A touch from the past
by Secret Tales
Summary: Cloud gets into a serious accident, and after that he is starting to see strange things. Ghosts of his past are starting to appear. Is he going crazy, or are the dead really following him around? Contains some CloudxTifa.
1. Chapter 1  The Beginning

**A touch from the past**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII**

**A/N: This is my first fanfic so all feedback's welcome :) Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1 – The beginning**

Cloud had faced many things during his lifetime. Monsters, Shinra, human experiments, but he had never been through something as horrifying as this. He didn't even dare to breathe. His already spikey hair stood straight out and tiny drops of sweat poured down his neck. There was nowhere to run, and even if he did, he knew he wouldn't get away. Carefully, he took a small step back in attempt to put as much distance as possible between himself and this…thing in front of him. How did this cursed object end up in his house anyway? He had been sure he had gotten rid of it for good, but here it was, resting in the hands of Marlene whose eyes glistered with excitement.

"Can we watch it now? Can we? Please, please, please!" she cried, jumping up and down with the tape in a tight grip. He attempted to smile, but his mouth was stuck in a tight line. This was nothing to smile about. That tape should never have been created. His expression didn't escape Marlene, who crossed her arms in a very Tifa-like matter.

"You promised! And don't even think about going back on your words!" She stared defiantly at him. As much as he hated to admit it, Cloud knew he couldn't say no. He would have to watch the tape…_again_. It was Marlene's favorite movie, _Loving in the sun. _An old chick flick about a boy and a girl, that meet and fall and love at sunny beaches of Costa del sol. That it was a chick flick wasn't the issue though. He had watched plenty of those before with both Marlene and Tifa (even though he didn't exactly like them). The thing was that he hadn't watched this movie just _once,_ or even _twice_. No, it was more times than that…_a lot_ more. Barret had once asked him to babysit Marlene for a few days while he worked in the field, and they'd ended up watching it over and over for _three days straight._ He was a wreck when it was over. For a while people really thought he'd gone insane. It took weeks to get the cheesy, sugar sweet lines out of his head. After that incident, he made sure _no one_ would ever have to see that again. They explained to Marlene that someone had probably just misplaced it somewhere and that it would surely show up again sooner or later. Yeah someone had _misplaced_ it alright…misplaced it under Fenrir's wheels about 50 times over.

And now against all odds it was back. And Cloud had promised to watch it. When had he promise something like that? More importantly, _why_ in gaia's name had he promised her that? Then it came back to him. Last night he had worked late and fallen asleep on the couch, when he was suddenly shaken awake by Marlene. Half asleep, he had caught the words _"I found it"_ and _"Promise?",_ and then dismissively waved her off with a sleepy _"yes, yes…"_. If he only had known this is what she had meant…

"Dad gave it to me! He said he bought it from a friend at work!" she mused and hugged the tape like it was a teddy bear "Please can we watch it now?". He let out a deep sigh, and gave her a light nod in pure defeat. She smiled widely and gave him a big hug followed by a lot of thank yous. She must've really missed that tape. After seeing her running upstairs, he went and sank down at one of the bar tables. How was he ever gonna survive this one? Tifa gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew very well what was awaiting him. Cloud genuinely smiled back at her, and that's when he noticed something.

"You're wearing them…" he nodded towards a spark of silver peaking out from under her dark hair. She blushed, and unconsciously put her hair behind her ear, revealing a little silver earring.

"Yeah…I just saw them laying there so I put them on" she said averting her eyes from him. It was a birthday present Cloud had given her for her last birthday. This was the first time he had seen her wearing them. She usually didn't wear earrings since they easily fell off during fights. They hadn't been in a real fight for a long time now, which must have been why she decided to put them on.

"They...um...they look really good on you" he managed while feeling his cheeks flaring up. She looked up at him, and flashed him that heartwarming smile that only she could. It made him lose himself…getting lost in those dark brown eyes that were so fierce, and so gentle. They continued to stare at each other, until finally Cloud broke it off and the moment was gone. Looking at the clock Tifa quickly changed the topic.

"Did you pick up the delivery for Mrs. Harris yet?" she asked. This certainly got Cloud on other thoughts. He had completely forgotten about that. The delivery plans had been changed so that some of the later deliveries had been moved to an earlier date. Mrs. Harris delivery was supposed to be delivered at 15:00, sharp. He turned to the clock on the wall. 14:30, which meant he still could make it in time if he hurried.

"I'll go now. Tell Marlene sorry for me" he said, already on his way to the door.

"You know you won't get away like this right? She'll still make you watch it" she smiled teasingly at him.

"I know…" he grimaced and stepped outside.

It didn't take long to drive to the assigned address a few blocks away. First he picked up the boxes he was supposed to bring. He had no idea what was in them, but from the gruesome smell they were emitting, he wasn't so sure he wanted to find out. Then he drove off to the edge of town to drop it of at the customer. Mrs. Harris, or Alberta as she insisted that he called her, seemed extraordinarily happy to get the four little nasty smelling boxes. He suddenly jumped back as something small and soft stroke the edge of his leg. A little hairy ball with two eyes, a little snub nose and a tail glared up at him. A low meow indicated that it probably was a cat. He then saw three other identical little hairballs inside the house, and that's when it was clear to him what was in the boxes. It was fish, or rotten fish by the smell of it. He shook his head as he realized that he really was delivering _anything._

He wasn't quite in such a hurry home as he'd been on the way out. A little _Loving in the sun_ time wasn't exactly an appealing thought. At minimum pace he drove through the crowded Edge. The city had been through a lot in the last few years, but ever since the geostigma disappeared it had slowly started to build up itself again. The voices of his friends still echoed in his mind. Zack….Aerith…it was thanks to them that he was still alive. Even now he wished he could have saved them…that they could still be here with him.

A bloodcurdling scream interrupted his thoughts, and every cell in his body was on high alert. His eyes scanned the area, looking for any hidden enemy. He put Fenrir to a stop, and reached for his sword. Where was it? Where was it coming from? The sudden attack he was ready for never came, and then the scream was heard once more. An old building a bit ahead let out a loud rumble and swayed dangerously much to the left side. He had heard it was supposed to have been demolished years ago, put that it had been put on hold due to economic issues. Obviously it now turned out to be a bad decision. With his sword in a tight grip, Cloud ran towards the building. He knew that every second he wasted could lead to the whole place collapsing before he got there. A broken window became his way in, and he quickly began to search the building. He wouldn't leave someone trapped in here.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" he yelled while carefully moving rubble to make his way in. A soft cry was heard in answer further inside. He hurried to the location, and found an empty room.

"Hello?" he called again. Behind a broken table, a small girl looked up. Her eyes were red and teary, and she was breathing heavily. She must've been absolutely terrified. He kneeled beside her and gave her a swift all over glance, looking for any visible injury. For the most part she seemed fine except for that her ankle was severely sprained. The rumble started to grow, and Cloud knew that if they didn't get out soon it would end badly. He took the girl in his arms and ran for the exit. When he saw the light from the broken window he knew he would make it. He carefully put the girl outside first, making sure she got out as fast as possible, and was just about to follow as well when she suddenly cried: "What about the little man?" she sobbed. He looked confused at her.

"Is there someone else in there?"

"I-..I saw this funny little man in there. He said it was his secret place" she said and pointed in the direction they had just been running from "He went to the room on the left". Following the direction she pointed, Cloud spotted the room. Luckily it was very near, only a few meters from the windows. If he was fast enough he would make it.

"Don't worry, I'll get him" he assured her, and sprinted to the door. It was one thing for a kid to be in here. Kids played in old ruins and buildings like this all the time. But what would a grown man do in a place like this? He was almost at the door now, just a little more. A little more and he could get the guy and hurry out before-

"_!" _the sudden scream surprised him, and what surprised him even more what that he was the one screaming. Dark liquid started to build up at the back of his head, and his sight was getting blurry. The pain was unbearable. It hurt to breath, it hurt move, it hurt to _be_. He needed to sit down to compose himself, but then he realized he already was on the floor. The building was collapsing around him, and he knew that if he didn't get out he would be buried. Despite the intense pain he tried to move but something was in the way. A heavy object, perhaps a beam of some sort, was laying right on top of him. Normally, it wouldn't be such a challenge to move, but it felt as though all of his strength was slowly drained from him. Damn, his sight was disappearing too. Tifa would be mad at him for getting in trouble again…

…_Tifa…_

…_Marlene…_

…_Denzel…_

…_Everyone…_

He could hardly think anymore. The world was fading bit by bit, leaving him in darkness.

_Is this…the end…?_

In whatever was remaining of his sight, he barely made out a pair of shoes. Maybe he was imagining things…Maybe he was dying…Maybe he was already dead…

..._Tifa…_

Then his world went completely black…

**A/N: Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuh! Well I hope I did well :3 Since it's my first and all. I'll update as soon as I can! Reviews would give me some determination ^^**


	2. Chapter 2  Painful Memories

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII**

**A/N: Thank you everyone! I'm glad you all liked the first chapter! And since I'm feeling so happy for the reviews, I'll give you an early update ^^**

**Chapter 2 – Painful memories**

_The rain was pouring down. There was blood everywhere…_

"…_Z-Zack?"_

_He looked so pained…so broken…._

"_For the…both of us…"_

_He was looking right at him, but the life spark in his eyes was draining away… _

"_Both…of us…?"_

_He looked tired…so very tired…_

"_That's right…you're gonna…"_

_It took a lot of effort express the simple words…_

"_You're gonna…?"_

_He reached out his hand and pressed his friend's head against his chest… _

"…_..Live…You'll be…my living legacy…"_

Cloud slowly opened his eyes. The lights around him were blinding, and he could feel an overwhelming clinical smell. As his eyes adjusted, he took in his surrounding, founding himself in a completely white room. He tried to sit up, but an intense pain in his back told him to stay down. That's right, the building was collapsing…he got trapped…

An IV tube stood on his right, connected to his right arm. Next to it was a little machine that beeped in an even, steady pace, reminding him that he was still alive. He closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. The simple movement made his chest hurt, and he winced at the pain. Yes, he was alive for sure. Being dead could never be this painful.

A familiar smell was slightly overpowering the clinical one, and as he looked to the side of his bed he found a small vase filled with colorful flowers. He would know that scent anywhere. It was Aerith's flowers. Despite the pain, he reached out and picked up one of them. The scent was nostalgic and triggered many memories within him. It made him feel like home. Tifa must have put them there for him. The sudden thought awoke longing in him. He wished she was there…and he had so many questions. How long was he out? How did he get out? Did everyone get out of the building? The thought of the "funny little man" still lurked in the back of his head.

A minute later the door to his little room opened and Tifa entered, carrying a little, brown paper bag. She looked exhausted. Her usually smooth hair was messy, and there was a trace of dark circles under her eyes indicating a great lack of sleep. The usual happiness that radiated from her was absent, and from what he could tell he knew she had been crying. She closed the door behind her, and turned around towards him. As soon as she saw him, all of her movement stopped. The paper bag she held slipped out of her hands and hit the ground with a loud thud. Then she just stared at him. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. There was a long silence before Cloud finally decided to speak.

"…Hi…" his voice cracked a little, and he realized how dry his mouth was. It was just one word, but it had great effect on Tifa. Her eyes started to tear up in a matter of seconds, and then she threw her arms around him. Whatever questions Cloud had before then were immediately gone. He held her tight in his arms, ignoring whatever pain this caused him. She was trembling in his embrace, and he could feel her tears running down the back of his neck.

"Thank god…thank god…" she sobbed and pulled him closer. He stroked her hair softly, silently comforting her.

"Everything's ok now" he promised her, and she broke out in more tears, crying softly against his chest. They stayed like that for a long time, not talking, but simply glad to be in each other's presence. Finally, Tifa wiped away her tears, composing herself. She sat down on a chair next to his bed, holding his hand tightly. A smile slowly settled on her lips, and she looked much more alive than when he'd first seen her.

"You were asleep for a long time" she whispered. The thought of it almost seemed to bring her to tears again.

"It's been a week since the accident"

"How…how did they get me out?" he asked. That part still confused him. With the building collapsing and the way he was trapped in there, he was surprised they were able to get him out. Expecting an answer, his confusion grew when he saw the surprised expression on Tifa's face.

"They found you just outside the building after it collapsed. We assumed that you were able to make it out just in time" Now it was Cloud who was surprised. He didn't remember getting out the building. Heck, he was _stuck_, he _couldn't_ get out. Then something else hit him.

"Did the man make it out?" this she didn't seem to comprehend either.

"You and that girl were the only one in there. No one else was seen or found in the rubble after that" her surprise changed to concern. She stroked his hand and spoke gently to him.

"Don't worry, you just woke up. It's natural that your memory should be a little fuzzy" she said and smiled at him. Cloud was pretty sure it was nothing wrong with his memory, but as he was about to protest he started coughing violently. Tifa quickly got up and stroke his back, slightly easing the pain the coughing was causing him.

"Wait here, I'll go get some water" she said and walked out. _Wait_ huh. It wasn't like he had much of a choice. As he lay down in his bed, he started inspecting himself. He had dark, purple bruises everywhere. His head was thoroughly bandaged, and he could imagine that he looked very mummy like. Both his right shoulder and a part of his back had stiches. He understood that he was very lucky to have survived after all this. Once again he closed his eyes, and let the relief overflow him. He was here, with his family and he was alive.

Just then a slight noise was heard by the door. Tifa must be back he thought, but he still kept his eyes closed. He didn't mind if she mistook him for sleeping.

"_Cloud…"_

His eyes flew open. That was _not_ Tifa's voice. It was not a voice he should be hearing. It was a voice he couldn't _possibly_ be hearing.

"…_We're friends, right…?"_

He didn't dare to look at the door. Completely still he listened to the voice he knew all too well. He had felt his presence before, and it had helped him through many hardships. Hearing his dead friend's voice was nothing new to him. But this was different. This feeling was neither warm, nor gentle. It was dark, and it made his blood run cold. The air felt incredibly heavy, and it was suddenly very hard to breathe. The presence itself was also very different. It was as if he was standing right there…in that room…watching him.

"…_Cloud…why…?"_

The machine was beeping faster and faster. His hands were shaking. He knew had to look, to see it with his own eyes. Slowly, he turned his head towards the door, hoping with all his heart he would find it empty. It wasn't. He was right there. Staring right at him with those mako eyes that they both were sharing. He looked so…alive. It was like Cloud was expecting him to break out in laughter in any moment and say _"I had you fooled didn't I?". _But he didn't laugh. He didn't even smile. His eyes looked sad, disappointed.

"_Why Cloud…?"_ he repeated. Cloud didn't know what to answer. He stared at him, the scene of the man's death replaying over and over inside his mind. It simply wasn't possible that he was standing right in front of him.

"…Zack?" he finally managed. Zack lowered his gaze to the floor, his sad expression still masking his face.

"_Why…you…?"_ then his appearance changed. It was Cloud's nightmare vision. Blood was running down his face, as well as his shirt that were full of holes. His eyes were lifeless, staring into nothing. Wounds were covering every part of his body. The bleeding…it just wouldn't stop.

He couldn't look anymore. Cloud shot his eyes tight, and clamped his hands around his head. This wasn't real. It _couldn't_ be real. He would take three deep breaths, and when he opened his eyes again everything would be back to normal.

_One…_

_Two…_

_Three…_

He opened his eyes. Tifa stood in the door, her worry wrinkle tightly stuck between her eyebrows. Thankfully, she was the only one standing there. Cloud put his head against his knees, breathing heavily. He hadn't realized how long he had been holding his breath.

"Are you okay? I brought you some water" she said and knelt beside him. Somehow he wasn't thirsty anymore. He was scared…very scared.

**A/N: Thanks again for reading it! It might take at least a week or so until my next update. I will be going to China to study there, so I can't really put anything up until I've settled down over there :) You'll have to hold on until then :P While waiting, I have a little question for you. I'll have some other people from the AVALANCHE team show up in my story, so I'm asking you; which one of them would you want to see the most?**

**P.s. I hope I didn't spell too bad (I was writing most of this late at night '^_^)**


	3. Chapter 3 The hero returns

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII**

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update you guys! Now I'm all settled here, and the internet is up and running. Here is the new chapter ^^**

**Chapter 3**

"Come on, hurry!" Cloud slowly stumbled forward on the street as Marlene tugged his arm, trying to make him walk faster. From behind them, Tifa gave him an anxious glance.

"Be careful with him. This is his first day at home, but he still needs to take it easy" Almost two weeks had passed at the hospital, and slowly he felt that his strength was returning to him. He was still in pretty bad shape, but at least he could walk without too much effort now. It was worst in the beginning. Back then he couldn't do _anything _without making every inch of his body scream with pain. Even so, it wasn't his own pain he feared for the most. The look in Tifa's eyes as he went through the rehabilitation was unbearable. He never wanted to see her like that again. Ever…

There had been no more unexpected visits, but Cloud still couldn't settle down. The air around him didn't feel right, like there was still someone out there…watching…waiting. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Despite the doctors' warnings, he decided to go back home. He just couldn't stay in that place anymore. Besides, he had always hated hospitals. Recovering he might as well do at home…with friends and family who _hadn't _crossed over yet. Tifa wasn't very keen on letting him leave the hospital so soon though.

"Let him walk at his own pace, alright?" she said firmly, clearly determined not let him tire himself even in the slightest. Looking a little guilty at her eagerness, Marlene slowed the pace a little.

"Sorry…But I just want to show him-!" she started, but Denzel hushed her, and she immediately clasped her hands over her mouth. Cloud raised an eyebrow at them.

"Show me what?" he knew something was going on. They had been like this since they left the hospital, and it was obvious that they were up to something. It hit him that it might be the tape (after all, he still hadn't kept his promise), but somehow he thought it was something else. It seemed a little _too_ secretive to be about a simple chick flick.

"It's a secret" she finally said while playing her hair, indicating that she _really_ wanted to tell him what it was. He looked questioningly at Tifa, but she just smiled and shook her head as if to say "you'll just have to wait and see". Yes, this was definitely not about a chick flick. Feeling just a little curious, he started to slightly increase the pace again. His body didn't quite cooperate on that thought though. He winced at the sudden pain that struck through his body.

"Cloud?" Marlene instantly stopped walking. She held his arm lightly, worry plainly seen in her little brown eyes. It was only a matter of seconds before Tifa and Denzel stood beside him as well. Their worry mirrored hers.

"Maybe we should go back to the hospital after all" Tifa whispered, but Cloud shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. Let's go" he stood up straight, trying to get a hold of himself. They had worried enough over him. No matter how much he had to suffer for it, he needed to get back to his old self. When he felt he had finally steadied himself, he managed a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. I'm fine, just a little tired that's all" that ceased some of their worries, but seeing Marlene still gazing anxiously at him he added "Besides didn't you have this little 'secret' to show me?" this brought a smile to her lips, and she nodded eagerly.

"I know. Why don't you guys run ahead and…_prepare _everything" Tifa said playfully, and at that time the three of them seemed to have a silent conversation. Three seconds later Tifa and Cloud were alone in the street, seeing a glint of the two little kids disappearing through the door to seventh heaven further ahead. With the grownups all alone, the air suddenly got way heavier. All worry and anger that Tifa had tried to mask were open for him to see. She didn't like this, not one bit.

"You shouldn't do this yet" her eyes were serious and full of determination. It was a look he knew very well. At times like these, she would not back down until she got her way. Her typical stubbornness was normally something he admired, but right now there was no way he would change his mind.

"I'm fine" he felt like he kept repeating that phrase. Avoiding her gaze, he started to keep walking. Tifa shook her head and looked away. They had already had this argument at the hospital when he first told her he wanted to leave. Their opinions hadn't changed the slightest since then.

He was just about to walk past her, when she suddenly grabbed his arm, forcing him to stay. It made him stop, but he didn't turn around. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could imagine the way she was looking at him right now.

"Don't turn away from this" her grip tightened "Please, just tell me…why are you doing this?" she pleaded. He knew that this was what frustrated her the most. Being in the dark, not knowing why he was acting the way he did. But he couldn't tell her. What was he gonna say? That he was leaving because a ghost was haunting him? Hell, he didn't even know what was going on himself. All he knew was that he had to get out of there. So then, as he had no answer to offer her, he remained silence. After a few minutes, he felt the grip on his arm loosen and he slowly pulled himself lose.

"…We'll keep them waiting" was all he said, and then they went together towards their little bar. When they stood outside the door, Tifa lingered on the doorknob as she carefully chose her words. Then she looked him in the eye and said: "I don't know why you're putting yourself through this…but I will wait. I will wait…until you're ready to trust me". And with that, she opened the door and he was met by a loud cheering. He blinked in surprise as he entered what he'd expected to be an empty bar.

"Oy! The man in question has arrived!" Barret shouted as he took a large gulp of beer. Cid glared annoyed at him and then snatched back the bottle that had been taken from him.

"Get your own fucking beer!" he said and finished whatever was left of its content. Nanaki, in company of Caith sith, shook his head at the sight of both of them and went to his own little bowl in the corner. Cloud couldn't help but think that he really looked like a pet dog, but he would never say it out loud. If he did, he would end up back at the hospital.

Then suddenly in a swift move, Yuffie popped up in front of Cloud, a wide grin playing on her lips.

"Welcome back spikey!" she exclaimed and gave him a hard pat on the back that almost made him fall over. The confused look on his face seemed to amuse the tiny thief even more.

"You look good for almost being squashed by five story building. I tell you, if it were me I-" she kept going, and Cloud feared that it would be a long speech about the "awesomeness" of Yuffie, but then suddenly the little ninja was lifted from the floor. The two of them looked equally surprised, until Cloud noticed the golden claw shaped hand that held her up in the air. Behind a hint of red, a dark voice greeted him

"Sorry I'm late…" Vincent said quietly. He pointed to one of the tables where a little white present stood among many others.

"I brought a get well present…" as a man of few words that was all he had to say. After receiving a nod in appreciation, he then left, the struggling Yuffie still hanging in his iron grip.

Speechless, Cloud stared at his old companions. It had been so long since they were all gathered like this, and it was almost…nostalgic. None of them had changed over the years. They could might as well been gathered to defeat Sephiroth all over again. The eight of them, out on another journey together.

_Nine…There were nine of us…_

That's right, one of them were missing. The thought dimmed his mood a little, but as he saw Marlene approaching he pushed it aside. He couldn't be sad on his own surprise party, right?

"You like it? It's great right?" she laughed in excitement. Cloud gently smiled at her and kneeled down at her level. He was pretty sure all this had been her idea.

"Thank you" he said and ruffled her hair with his hand. In return he got a big hug, and then she returned to Denzel, who now had started dividing the cake. Left alone, he searched the room for Tifa. He wanted to thank her as well, and not just for this party. She had been there for him all this time, helping him to get back on his feet. She had even been taking over his deliveries despite already having such a busy schedule. He figured she would stand in the bar right now (since they all seemed to get their drinks _somewhere_), but the disk was empty. Maybe she had gone upstairs to get something.

Determined to find her, he sneaked away from his guests and out towards the stairs. Just as he was going to set his foot on the first step, he stopped himself. The familiar scent he'd first felt at the hospital hit him again, and he dropped his gaze. Another flower…Aerith's flower. He picked it up, and gently held it between his fingers. Why would it be in a place like this? Then he noticed it wasn't just one either. Every second step held another flower, leading all the way up the second floor. A trail of crumbles...

"…Tifa" he smiled at himself. It had to be her. To think that she would go through all this trouble to give him yet another surprise. A warm feeling rose in him, as followed the flower trail. Thinking about what she might've planned for him actually made his heart beat a little faster. Since she'd been so against him coming home, he hadn't expected anything like this from her. He tried to think of what he was going to say when he arrived, but he came up blank. There was no way he could prepare for this.

As he stepped on the final step, he saw that the trail continued into his own room. Now his heart was truly racing. In a faint attempt to calm himself, he took a deep breath. It didn't help much, but whatever awaited him in there, he was ready. With a dose of summoned courage, he finally entered his room. It was completely empty.

"…Hello?" confused he looked around. There was no one in there as far as he saw. Not Tifa, not anyone…just an empty room. The trail ended at his bed, where a flower –prettier than all the others- rested together with small, white card. He picked it up and read it. Two words were written, none of them in Tifa's handwriting.

"You came…"he quietly read out loud. As he did, the door closed hard behind him. In pure reflex his hand flew to his back to grab his sword, but there was nothing grab. He hadn't carried his sword since the accident by the reason that he simply wasn't able to. Now he was completely open for any attack, without any way to defend himself.

Desperately, his eyes searched the area for the hidden enemy. Whatever sick game this was, he wouldn't let it get any further.

"_You came…"_ the written words echoed through the room. The voice was just as familiar to him as the scent of the flowers he'd been following. And it made his blood run cold…

"No…" this was the same presence as before. The ill presence that made him feel like the air was leaving him, and like the room was getting darker. A whisper from the past…

"…Aerith…"

**A/N: I just seem to end up making cliffhangers don't I? Hope you liked it. Next update will be out soon ^^**


	4. Chapter 4 Old Friends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII**

**A/N: Hi everybody! Guess who is back? :D *silence* …Yeah there's probably no one reading this anymore huh ^_^'. The "very soon" update never came…  
Sorry guys! I'd been through some real shit back IRL, so I completely forgot about my little story. After finding it on my computer just now I decided to continue :P  
****If**** there's anyone still reading, enjoy!**

**Chapter 4 - Old friends**

He'd been expecting the voice of an enemy, an ambush, anything but this. Her laugh seemed to come from everywhere around him. When she was alive he used to love her laugh, a soft and gentle sound that always managed to cheer him up. This laugh however was hollow, menacing even. The presence he felt was the same as he'd felt from his last dead visitor, only this time it was _stronger._ Slowly he backed up against the wall to get clear view over the room and to make sure that no one could sneak up behind him.

"Aerith…" he said again, more loudly this time. A cold hand grabbed his shoulder and he jumped in surprise. He spun around, but the only thing behind him was the wall he'd been pressed against. _What the hell was going on? _The laugh was heard again, this time from behind him. Cloud gritted his teeth.

_This couldn't be her…could it?_

No it couldn't. Aerith was dead, and whoever….or whatever this was it surely wasn't her. Half expecting to see no one when he turned around, it actually took him by surprise when he saw the young woman sitting on his bed, intently observing him. Unlike Zack, she was actually smiling and to anyone else she might've appeared to completely harmless. Cloud on the other hand could feel the lurking threat beneath that mask. He'd seen enough battles to know when someone had bad intentions or not. Seemingly happy to have gotten his attention, Aerith picked up one of her flowers while slowly moving closer.

"_I used to love these flowers"_ she sighed as she closed her eyes, inhaling the fragrance of the little plant. _"It's too bad…that I will never be able to feel their sweetness again…"._ She kept moving forward, and as she did Cloud kept moving backwards, away from her. He'd been petrified when he met Zack, but he still hadn't felt like his returned friend wanted him any harm. Aerith on the other hand was like a snake closing up on its prey, with every intention of swallowing him whole. Desperately, he looked around for a weapon, or anything he could defend himself with. There was not much to find. When Marlene and Denzel had moved into their home she'd been very careful not to let anything dangerous lay around.

_Damn it!_

He felt the wall against his back as he'd backed into a corner. This was it, he couldn't stall any longer. Aerith giggled lightly, and for a second she almost seemed like her old self. Then the wicked smile returned.

"_What's wrong? You look nervous. Are you not happy to see me?" _ she was barely two meters from him now. He could feel his heart beating so fast he feared it would jump out of his chest and leave him to die. Then he saw it, the thing he had been looking for; a weapon! Or sort of at least… A shoehorn showed itself from underneath the carpet, and he immediately grabbed it and put himself in his usual fighting position. Wielding it like if he was holding his broadsword, Cloud now felt at least a little more ready for whatever was ahead of him. He wasn't exactly a fearsome sight. Marlene had specifically picked this shoehorn because of the bright pink color that was painted all over it. But it was still made of iron, which made it suitable enough to suffice as a weapon.

When there was only one meters space between them, Aerith suddenly stopped. She wasn't smiling anymore, and her head was slightly tilted down making her long bangs cover most part of her face. It was like something taken out of a horror movie. Then in a sudden movement she sat down on her knees, holding both her hands together in a silent pray. The unexpected move startled him and quickly turned his weapon towards her. This made her slowly turn to him.

"…_why?"_

It was that question again. He gripped the shoehorn tighter, silently observing her. She was looking him straight in the eye. All humor was gone, her usually smiling lips was stuck in a tight line. Then suddenly, tears started running down her face.

"_Why…why Cloud?" _dark red liquid was starting to form around her stomach. She looked down at her increasing wound, gently touching it with her hand. This was starting to turn into a very familiar image.

_No…please anything, but not this…  
_

Drip, drop…The blood slowly spread over the floor.

_It's not real! It's not real!_

Drip, drop, drip, drop

_STOP!_

"STOP IT!" his sudden words made her look back at him. His hands were shaking, but he didn't dare to move. Actually, he didn't know _what_ he should do. It was like watching her die all over again. Now her braid was loose, and her precious piece of material slowly rolled over to his feet. He felt instinctively that he had to pick it up, but that would leave him open for an attack.

_An attack? She can't even stand! The only threat here is me_

He slowly kneeled down to pick it up, when Aerith suddenly screamed at him.

"_WHY? WHY DID YOU DO IT?"_

It completely took him by surprise and he staggered back to fighting position. A sharp pain hit him, and he fell to the ground again. In the mist of it all he had completely forgotten about his own wounds. First everything became quiet, and for a moment he actually thought she had gone away. Then she suddenly started to laugh quietly to herself, as if she'd just thought of something funny. He tried to get up, but the pain was stopping him. All he could do was listen to her voice.

"_I'll be going now, I'll come back when it's all over" _it was the last thing she had said before she died, and to Cloud, it was too much to bear right now. With all his might, he ignored the pain and got to his feet with a scream of effort, only to find the room empty.

_Where is she?_

His heart was racing, with senses on high alert. With his emotions so confused and mixed together, he wasn't sure what he should be feeling. Scared? Sad? Angry? All he knew was that he had to find her! He had to know what the hell was going on!

The sound of the door opening instantly made him turn around, swinging the shoehorn wildly as he turned. A strong hand caught his desperate attack, and he was just about yank it loose when saw whose hand it was. He stopped attacking at once. Tifa looked equally shocked where she stood, with her body in full battle reflex. She carefully put down shoehorn, not breaking eye contact even for a moment. Her movements were slow and cautious like she was approaching an attacked animal. Then she took a small step back while holding up both her hands.

"It's ok…you're safe now…I'm not going to hurt you"

The words were simple, but it triggered great relief in him and he sunk down on the floor. The pain he so intensely had tried to ignore hit him like a slap in the face, and for a moment it was almost overwhelming.

He hardly even noticed that Tifa had kneeled down to him.

"Cloud! Cloud are you ok?" her hands was lightly touching him as if she was afraid to hurt him. At this point a simple touch couldn't possible do much more damage, but he kept that to himself.

"Wait here! I'll go get help!" she said, quickly rising to her feet. He quickly grabbed her arm, using whatever strength he had left to stop her.

"I'm…I'm fine!" There was no way he could let the others see him like this, especially not Marlene and Denzel. As to prove his point, he tried to get up, but his broken body had another say about it and refused to cooperate.

Tifa stared silently at him. She didn't show it, but he knew she was angry. Then with a big sigh, she put her arm under his, carefully leading him to the bed.

"Fine my ass" she muttered as she threw him down on it with a little more strength than was needed. Expecting a scolding, he was quite surprised when she instead laid down beside him. Yes, she was definitely angry, that much was clear, but somehow she seemed to accept his choice.

They stayed like that for a while, until something suddenly came to Cloud's mind.

"We should probably pick up the flowers"

"Flowers?"

"Yeah, the ones by the stairs" he answered. She looked confusedly at him.

"I didn't see any flowers on my way up here" she said, now even more bemused than before.

"…what?" he went completely cold. Seconds later, he rushed out of the room. When he arrived of the stairs, he came to a complete stop.

_I can't believe it!_

It was completely empty. There was not a single flower laying on those steps. But that's impossible! There was no mistake that he had seen that trail of flowers going all that way up to his room!

_That's right! The card!_

He ran back into his room and set his gaze on the bed. The only thing on it was Tifa, who now stared anxiously at him.

"What is going on?"

_That's what I would like to know_

There was no trace of Aerith whatsoever. The only evidence that she had really been there was the heavy feeling in his stomach, but for all he knew it could be the stitches that was starting to ache. This only left him with one conclusion.

…_Am I going crazy?_

**A/N: There you have it! If there is anyone still reading it then please review so I know if I should continue to update it!  
Who knows, I might do it for my own pleasure ~**


	5. Chapter 5 A new threat

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Crisis Core**

**A/N: Ey guys! Guess who decided to update? ^^ Man I'm so glad to see that there still are people who wants to read my crap! :P **

**Special thanks to ****OhJay ****, ****Irish-Brigid ****, ****Cristicia ****and** **JammersFlood**** who were really fast to review. Thanks guys, gives me a boost!**

**No more of me, enjoy!**

**Chapter 5 – A new threat**

"Mine first! Open mine first!"

"No I want to be first!"

The two kids were pulling Clouds arms so hard feared that he would split in two. The mountain of presents had certainly not gotten smaller in his absence, and he was not very keen on going through all of them. He had planned to open all his 'get well presents' by himself later after everyone had left, but as things looked right now, that was not gonna happen.

"You always get to be first!" Marlene whined. Technically, that was not true, but she seemed use whatever she could to get her way with this. Denzel however was not giving in at all, and seemed just as determined to get his little blue package opened first.

"_You _are the one who always gets to be first!" he countered, pulling Clouds left arm closer to him. In response Marlene tugged his right arm even harder. Cloud could clearly see where this was going, and decided to solve the problem before his arms would break clean off.

"How about if I open _both of them?_" he said. There was a slight sound of protest, but with one glare from Tifa they nodded in defeat. From Denzel he got a small silver wolf head to hang on his cellphone which he instantly put to place. It fit right in with the rest of this stuff. Marlene had shown her creative side and given him a drawing of their family. It was very cute, but like always in her drawings, his hair seemed a little _too _spikey. Was that really how she saw him?

_Maybe I should get a haircut? _

The rest of the gifts were opened in a rush, since the guests were all tired, or as in Cid's and Barret's case, _extremely drunk._ All the other presents seemed to solely surround around his wounds. Yuffie had put together enough bandages to make mummy army, which together with Caith Sith's band aids made the ultimate first aid pack. Red XIII presented some light painkillers from his home village, while Cid had been forced to bring some herb tea from Shera. Vincent's present…well, he couldn't quite figure what it was actually. It was green, squishy, and smelled very suspiciously. Apparently he was supposed to eat it.

"….I usually take it for my headaches…." he explained quietly before returning to his corner. Cloud nodded in appreciation, though he thought to himself that there was probably no way in hell that this thing would ever get anywhere near his mouth. Last but not least was Barret, who gave him a big bottle of rum.

"Helps you go to sleep you know" he laughed and gave him a pat on the back which made him fall right into Tifa's arm. They stared awkwardly at each other. The two of them still hadn't talked properly about what happened and just being in each other's presence seemed to bring the thought to mind. Finally, Tifa decided to put their attention on something else.

"I think we've all had enough for today. Especially you two" she said while pointing to Cid and Barret who now were fighting over the last beer bottle. Somehow she managed to get the two of them out with not much effort, but on the other hand she was handling drunks on a daily basis so two more wouldn't make much of a challenge. Since none of them was in a fit to drive, she took on the responsibility to drive them home. She needed to pick up some deliveries on the way anyway. There was quite a lot of stuff to get, so Marlene and Denzel tagged along to help her carry it.

Left alone in the bar, Cloud sank down by the window, looking out at the empty street. Though he had tried his hardest to forget about it all, it was impossible to erase the memory of Aerith from his mind. It all had seemed too real and yet at the same time, it felt like a dream. That was what he hoped for at least. If it all was a dream then he could rule out the fact that he might be completely out of his mind. He sighed loudly and let his head sink into his hands. Could this all really just be inside head? That everything that he'd seen since he woke up in the hospital could be the creation of his own -and apparently twisted- imagination?

The thing that bothered him the most wasn't only the fact that he was seeing dead people…but also _the way_ he was seeing them. Except for their appearance, they were nothing like the way they used to be when they were alive. The sound of Aerith's laugh came fresh to him, and he shivered at the memory. Why were they haunting him anyway? He immediately corrected himself.

_It's not real_

Finally he decided to stop thinking about it, and instead started cleaning up after his visitors. It was the perfect distraction as he was amazed at the amount of empty beer bottles standing on the tables. He only got to work for about five minutes though, before a dark voice spoke up from behind him.

"…Cloud" the sound almost made him drop everything he was holding, and three bottles fell hard to the floor. Slightly irritated he turned to face the visitor, and even before he saw him he had a good idea who it was.

"Could you knock?" he said before picking up whatever was left of the dropped beer bottles. Vincent stood in the hall silently, showing no sign of guilt over his sudden intrusion. On the other hand, he was usually expressionless so it wasn't exactly a surprise.

"…Sorry" he finally said as he stepped forward. In his dark red silhouettes he stood out quite well in the plain old bar. To most people he appeared frightening in his ghostlike form, but Cloud had since long ago grown adjust to his friend's odd looks. To think of Vincent as _ghostlike_ now seemed quite ridiculous compared to his earlier experiences. Having gotten rid of the broken bottles he was now all ears. He knew he hadn't waited for the two of them to be alone just for a simple chit chat. Sure enough, Vincent went straight to the point.

"…There has been a large increase in numbers of disappearances" he said while leaning himself against the wall.

"At first no one seemed to take notice, but then a few of them started to show up dead" for a second Cloud thought he could see a hint of disgust in his friends normally blank face before he continued.

"They were…hardly recognizable" he paused as his face grew darker "It's definitely all the work of the same person". This caught Cloud's attention.

"You're saying that there's one person doing all this?" he asked skeptically. It seemed a little farfetched that one person could have done all this without getting caught. As if he'd read his mind as Vincent answered.

"Whoever it is, he's really clever, and he seems to have a lot of people working for him. I'm also suspecting that he has people within the Shinra headquarters" he stated. Cloud stayed silent for a moment, as he slowly processed the information he'd just received. He didn't like it, not one bit. Still…it was one thing that bothered him.

"Why are you telling me this?" This time it was Vincent he grew silent. As he'd guessed, there was something more to it.

"…All the victims had some kind of connection to Shinra. Be it past or present" he finally answered, staring gravely at Cloud "and it's not only people who've directly worked with Shinra, but their families too". Cloud stared back at him wide eyed. For the first time it truly hit him why Vincent had told him all this. He fit perfectly in the victim profile, which meant that both he and the others could be in danger. Images of his family drenched in blood flashed threw his mind, and he grew cold as he realized that he was in no shape to protect them in his current state. When Vincent caught realization in his eyes, he stood up and drew out a small object from within his coat.

"…A small gift" he said holding out a Peacemaker together with a small pack of ammo. Cloud took the gun in a steady grip. Though it wasn't his first time holding a gun, it was a weird feeling after using a sword for such a long time. He tried aiming it once, holding his arm straight and steady as he could. It was surprisingly light to handle, which made it fairly easy for him to use. He smiled to himself. For the first time in a while, he didn't feel completely defenseless. He would probably have to practice a lot though. Guns had never been his ideal weapons, and after so many years of not using one, his aim would without a doubt be quite rusty. He smiled up at his friend.

"Thank you…for everything. I'll be careful" he said, truly appreciating what he'd done. He must have gone through a lot of work to get all that information. Vincent gave a small nod in response before walking towards the door. Then suddenly he came to a stop, as if he'd just remembered something. He put his hand in his right pocket pulled out a tiny piece of paper on which Cloud could barely identify a written phone number.

"He should be able to fill you in on the details" was all he said as he placed the number on a table and quietly left through the door. Cloud didn't waste any time and immediately got up his phone. If anything threatened to hurt his family, he wanted whatever information he could get his hands on in order to prevent it from happening. He dialed the 6 digit number and waited patiently for the other end to pick up. After waiting a while with still no answer he was just about hang up when a voice finally answered.

"What? Who is it?" a man's voice muttered irritated. To Cloud's surprise, it was a man he knew very well. And he immediately whished he hadn't made the call.

"Reno…" he groaned

**A/N: I know! No ghost in this chapter! :O Shame on me!  
Oh right, and I have some good news! I won't be having any test for a while, and guess what that means? More time for me to write! ^^ I've noticed that my chapters are pretty short so I'll do my best to write a longer one next time.**

**Thanks for reading as always! Appreciate the reviews **


	6. Chapter 6 Old enemies

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Crisis Core…as usual :P**

**A/N: Hi nerds! And…SORRY, SORRY, SORRY .! It took a little longer than I expected to finish this chapter, but believe me I have my reasons. First thing is that I have been sick…very sick actually and it took a while before I got better. Don't worry though, I'm pretty much fine now. The second thing is that I've been having some difficulties with my writing. Since I started this story so long ago I have completely forgotten my original purpose for the story (in other words, the ending itself. I know I'm THAT good…-_-). After a while of brainstorming with my sister, I finally got to a satisfying conclusion (now I'm only hoping you all will like it too when the time comes). But there's a long way to go before the end of this story, so for now just enjoy the new chapter ;)**

_P.S. It has been pointed out that there's a lot of mistakes in my texts (like missing words, bad grammar etc), and I did a little check through all the chapters and fixed those that I could find. Just wanted you to know that I am aware that my writing isn't always great (and English isn't my first language either) so I just hope you don't get too annoyed if you notice some faults through the story. If there's a part somewhere that really bugs you just tell me and I'll fix it (after all, I'm writing for you guys so…:P). Yeah…I'm done babbling over here…START READING! XD_

**Chapter 6 – Old enemies**

"Hey! Who the hell is this?" the redhead yelled impatiently. It took Cloud a serious amount of self-control to convince himself not to hang up right away. He'd never had any high regards for the Turks to begin with, but with Reno his tolerance was next to nothing. Though Shinra no longer was the same way it had been during his struggle against Sephiroth, that didn't mean that he trusted them. Actually, with everything that happened in the past he would probably never trust them. But trustworthy or not, it was the only lead he got. In one deep breath he swallowed his pride and cut of the Turk's loud questioning.

"We need to talk" he said, getting straight to the point. As much as he needed his help, he'd rather make this a short call. Reno on the other hand didn't seem as quick on the matter as he was. Even after hearing his voice twice it didn't seem to occur to him who it was.

"W-wait what? _We,_ meaning who?" the Turk repeated "God, why do people _always_ call me on my day off?" he grumbled quietly to himself. His voice was groggy and slightly incoherent, indicating that he probably just woke up. Cloud threw a glance at the clock. It was already four in the afternoon. To think that they could be slacking this much when there was someone going around killing off their colleagues. On the other hand, this was Reno we were talking about.

"It doesn't matter who I am" he answered, deciding to ignore his question. It would probably be easier if he didn't know who he was straight away anyway.

"Meet me at 'The Desert Rose'. 6 o'clock sharp, don't be late" he replied simply. His patience was at its end. This call was ending now!

" 'the fuck are you-?" CLICK. There, it was done. Hopefully it was enough to make him show up, though part of him wished that he wouldn't. He looked over at the clock again. Still four o'clock, which meant that he had some time to kill before he needed to go, and he knew exactly what he was gonna do with that time. In one swift movement he picked up the Peacemaker from the table and swung it into a steady aim before shooting at his target. With a loud bang it hit one of the beer bottles that shattered immediately into tiny glass pieces. '_Shit!' _He cursed quietly to himself as he reloaded. He'd been aiming at the one in the middle, but instead he had hit one standing on the left. As he'd thought, his aim was completely off. Having loaded it with new rounds of bullets he turned his back on the bottles again. Speed and accuracy; that was the only way to stay alive while wielding a gun. Right now he lacked both. And with his wounds stealing most of his speed, he'd have to make sure he at least had accuracy in firing. He took a deep breath. One…two…three! He turned and fired again. A new bottle disappeared into a thousand pieces. Unfortunately it was not the middle one, but this time it was closer. Only two bottles from it actually. Just a little bit more! He redid the exercise again, this time even more focused than last time. As he let the bullet fly it flew with great precision right into his target. '_Great'_ he thought to himself. He was going to need waaay more beer bottles.

_18:20…_

He was late. Or maybe he wasn't going to show. The way Cloud had sounded on the phone it wouldn't have surprised him if the Turk decided to stay in bed. But in case the lazy bastard was just taking his sweet time getting there, he decided to wait at least a little while longer. He'd picked the perfect place for their meeting. _Desert Rose _was unlike Seventh Heaven quite big, but they had since months ago started to lose their customers. He didn't exactly know why, but from the cockroaches lining up in one of the corners he had a pretty good guess. Now they usually only had a few old regulars, or occasionally a few drunks who were looking for some cheap, tasteless beer. Cloud had only been there once before when he'd been taking a few deliveries for Joe, the owner of the place. At least it was good for something, since it was the perfect place to talk undisturbed.

Fifteen minutes later he was almost about to give up and leave when the red haired Turk entered the bar. His appearance was just as Cloud remembered it. Despite wearing the same suit as his coworkers he had a very distinctive look with his shirt slightly unbuttoned and with a missing tie. His favorite weapon still seemed to be around too as he spotted the EMR clenched in his right hand. He was looking around the place, undoubtedly searching for the one who'd called him.

Cloud slowly got to his feet. Guess there was no use hiding anymore huh? With a deep sigh he took a few determined steps towards Reno. First he seemed too caught up in his searching to notice him, but then suddenly their eyes met. The Turks eyes widened in clear surprise, but it didn't last long as Cloud spotted a fox -like grin forming on his lips.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in" he said, letting the EMR rest on his shoulder "Long time no see I guess, spikey head". Oh how much Cloud just wanted to hit him and leave, but he knew very well that it was not an option. Still it was hard to look him straight in the eye. All he saw was a nonchalant murderer who cared for nothing and no one but himself. A true dog of Shinra.

"Come with me" he answered and was ready to lead him to his table, but Reno didn't follow. From his expression it seemed he thought it was a joke.

"Thanks but no thanks, I have some business to take care of" he said laughingly waving Cloud off with his hand. Cloud stared at him in amazement. He _still _didn't get that it was he who had called him.

"Yeah I know, that's why I asked you to come with me. _We need to talk" _first Reno only grinned at his words, but then a hint of realization sparked in his eyes. The grin slowly disappeared from his face as his mouth started to form into a small 'Oh' of complete suprise. He turned and pointed questioningly at Cloud who nodded in response. For a few seconds he just stared at him. His expression said one thing: _'You got to be fucking kidding me!'_

"And what the hell makes you think that I would talk to _you?"_ he finally replied. Cloud stared gravely back at him. He had already expected this response.

"It's a about the murders. You know which ones I'm talking about" somehow he'd expected him to dodge the question, but he didn't. His usually layback attitude was replaced by a very serious expression. A side of the Turk which had never seen before. With a short nod he confirmed the statement and followed Cloud to the table. There was a heavy silence between the two before Reno let out a frustrated sigh and called for the waitress.

"Ey lady! Two beers and make it quick!" he called a little louder than necessary. Within two minutes a women arrived with two big draft beers. She muttered something along the lines_ 'Please enjoy' _before returning to her work, loudly complaining about how the job was not worth the money. The drink had hardly touched the table before Reno snatched it and took a big swig out of it. When half of the content was gone he finally put it down with a big gasp.

"Man no wonder this place is shutting down. Ugly waitresses and the beer taste like crap. You're paying by the way" he said and took another swig, this time emptying the glass completely. With his drink finished he leaned tiredly back in his chair. 

"So you've heard of our little…situation" he finally said. Cloud nodded.

"I want know what you've found out so far. Everything" he confirmed. This earned him a hard glare from Reno.

"And exactly what makes you think that I'm going to tell you that" he questioned. His cold attitude towards the subject was something Cloud thought was quite unusual. Normally he would just joke it off with some sarcastic comment and then tell him to stick it where the sun don't shine. There was something about the topic that brought a dark feeling to him, and whatever it was it sure as hell couldn't be good. Cloud carefully thought through his words before answering.

"I want to help" This time the Turk started laughing.

"You? Help _us?_" he exclaimed. Even to Cloud the thought sounded completely ridiculous, but it wasn't a lie. He wanted to find this guy before he could get the chance to come anywhere near his family. If catching him meant helping Shinra then so be it.

"I'm not doing it for you" he clarified with a cold stare. Reno grinned and leaned further back in his chair.

"Ouch, that hurt spike" he said while putting his hand on his heart dramatically. Cloud rolled his eyes and turned to the window, hoping that perhaps the sight of something else might calm his urge to punch the guy's face. There was a long silence, and Cloud was actually starting to think that he wasn't going to get any information out of this. He started to stand up when Reno suddenly spoke.

"There's not much I can tell you ya know" he said with a sigh. Cloud stared silently at him as he waited for him to go on. When he didn't, he sat down and pushed his untouched beer towards him.

"Whatever you know is fine" he assured him. Reno glanced a few seconds at the offered glass in front of him before deciding to take a drink out of it. With some more alcohol in his blood he started explaining the current situation. Apparently it was exactly like Vincent had said. All victims (that they knew of at least) had a tight connection to Shinra. The majority was presently working for the company and there were specifically a large amount of Shinra military soldiers missing. A large part were also ex-employees, which made them suspect that whoever was doing this had an access to a lot of Shinra's records and documents. And that meant someone in the company was giving out information.

"There's like a freaking zoo up there now" he sighed "everyone is blaming everyone. Suspicions and accusations are thrown around like you'd think the whole company was corrupt or something" he noticed Cloud looking away a little awkwardly.

"Hey we're not like that anymore you know!" he protested. _Yeah right…_ so far they didn't seem to have changed that much Cloud thought.

"Anyway we've tried to raise the security and so on but those bastards always see through our every move! They even…they even-!" He threw his fist hard into the table. There was a hard look in his eyes, a wild anger that threatened to kill anything standing in his way. Cloud tensed a little and rested his hand on the gun in his belt. Thankfully he didn't need to use it as Reno, with a bit of effort, let his anger slip away.

"They even got some of our guys. Three of us to be exact and they were no newbies either" He took a swig out of his beer before he continued "Last week one of them showed up dead". He rested his head on his hand cursing quietly to himself. Cloud was amazed. Though he himself had beaten the Turks in battle before, he knew they were tough. If whoever was doing all of this had enough resources to take down as much as three of them, he must be very powerful.

A hint of a flash in the window broke him out of his thoughts and he quickly turned to look outside. For a moment he was sure he'd seen two clear blue eyes staring at him from the darkness, but the street outside was completely deserted. A bad feeling was rising in his stomach so he decided to round up the conversation.

"Do you have any leads at all on what's going on? Clues? Suspects? Anything?" he carefully studied Reno, waiting for a sign that hinted that he was hiding something from him. Reno however didn't exactly seem to be hiding anything, but he had a very odd look on his face. He scratched the back of his head as if he seemed to reflect on whether he should speak or not.

"We _do _have a suspect…well sort of…but by my opinion it's not exactly valuable information" he said awkwardly. Cloud stared confusedly at him. How could a suspect _not _be valuable information? That was closest thing they had to a lead!

"What do you mean?" he asked. Reno sighed loudly and waved his hand dismissively in front of him.

"The girl is a nut job ok? No matter how many times we interrogate her it's the same shitty answers all over again" he muttered with clear irritation. Something told Cloud that he probably knew that by experience. The nut job part had caught his interest though. What possible excuse could this girl have to be treated as a mental case?

"So what is she saying then?" he persuaded without trying to sound too interested. Reno shook his head and started massaging his temples as if just the thought of it all brought him pain.

"She insists that _ghosts _are doing it all" the words were like a bucket of ice showering over him. He completely froze whatever movement he was doing as shock overcame him. No it was impossible wasn't it? It couldn't be real. Like Reno said only a nut job would be talking about ghosts. He had actually started to come to terms with the possibility that he might be insane. Now he wasn't sure what would scared him the most. That possibility he might be losing his mind or that the dead were actually coming back to haunt him.

Then as if they had felt his fear, he felt a cold presence on his left side. Slowly he turned towards the window. The street was still as empty as ever, but as he concentrated his gaze on window itself he felt his breath being taken away. There, in the reflection in the glass a pair of blue eyes was staring back at him. A familiar dark figure was peaking up from behind him, hiding in Cloud's shadow. The loathing is Zack's eyes were as piercing as any sword as he opened his mouth to speak. A cold breath touched his neck as he uttered the three short words.

"_I'm watching you"_

Cloud flew abruptly up from his chair almost tipping the whole table over in the process. Reno cursed loudly as he saved the beer in the last second, but Cloud was not paying him any attention. He was staring at the empty spot behind him were Zack should have been standing. A strong feeling was starting to settle as he traced his hand along his neck…a feeling he'd ignored so far. The thought that he might not be crazy after all…the thought that everything he'd seen so far could actually be real.

**A/N: As promised! Longer than last time! A quick thanks to **_**Sylvur's Tourniquet**_**!**__**It was actually your review that gave me enough boost to finish this chapter even though I was feeling a little crappy, so yeah thanks. It was needed! ^^ I'm almost all better now so hopefully the next update won't be as late as this one ;) **_**Now go review all of you! :P**_


	7. Chapter 7 The calm before the storm

**Disclaimer: Me not own FF VII or Crisis Core :P**

A/N: Updated! ^^ So glad for all the positive response I got from the last chapter! I've been going _**one week **_**without internet now (I know poor me :P) so somehow I've found myself just writing and writing on this thing. And in the and….well it became **_**really**_** long! But I guess that's a good thing right? As always, ENJOY! ^^**

**Chapter 7 – The calm before the storm**

He was in trouble…_big _trouble. Tifa glared angrily at him from where she was sitting beside him, but as Cloud tried to speak she turned her back on him, facing the wall. He sighed loudly. This was going to be a long day. The night before had been all but pleasant after he came home from The Desert Rose to find a furious Tifa cleaning up the leftovers from his afternoon practice. In his hurry to get in time to meet his informant, he had simply left the mess of broken beer bottles to be dealt with later on. What he hadn't thought of at the time was that he might not be the first person to return to the bar. The long agonizing scolding he'd received seemed to play over and over in his head. He cursed himself for not having cleaned it up before he'd left. It wouldn't have mattered if he had been late since the stupid redhead didn't keep the schedule in the slightest anyway. He made a mental note to let Reno pay for this later on.

Even now the next day Tifa was giving him the silent treatment as they sat in the waiting room of the hospital. Even though the doctor allowed him to be at home, it had been on the condition that he went to get regular medical checkups. Since he'd been acting strangely the day before at his '_Welcome home party' _Tifa had thought it would be best to look it up. He wanted to tell her that it really wasn't anything serious, but explaining that he was seeing ghost would probably not convince anyone that he was feeling better. And he really was. Sure, his back and stomach were killing him at times, but other than that he was completely fine…well except for the ghost seeing part of course.

But on the other hand, right now it wouldn't matter what he said to her. She wouldn't listen to _anything_ he'd have to say. But she couldn't ignore him forever…could she?

"…I said I was sorry" he tried again for probably the hundredth time. She didn't move an inch. The wall would probably get to have a longer conversation with her than him at that point. He sighed in defeat and leaned back in his chair just as a white dressed man entered the room.

"Cloud Strife?" he called out. At the sound of his name he got up and followed him through the corridor, Tifa following close behind them. The doctor led them to a room at the left where he told them to sit and informed them that the doctor would arrive shortly. _'…more waiting'_ Cloud thought grimly. He didn't know how much tension he could take as he and Tifa sat in silence. Also, he didn't have much time to waste. He looked anxiously at the clock. His conversation with Reno yesterday had not left his mind for even a second:

_"You want to do WHAT?" _ _Reno cried as he stared wide eyed at him._

"I have to meet her. The girl…I have to talk to her" he repeated patiently. The Turk's expression didn't change. He clearly thought Cloud had completely lost his mind.

"_Ok listen up! Number one: __Are you out of your fucking mind?,__ Number two: We have already talked to her a thousand times and she's not spilling any beans any time soon!, Number three!: Do you seriously think they're just gonna let you waltz right into a top security facility to talk to our fucking main suspect?" there was probably not a single person in the bar that hadn't heard his loud outburst. Cloud hissed angrily at him and motioned him to be quiet before he let out any more information to the open public. Reno seemed to realize his mistake as he immediately shut his mouth._

"_Look just let me try. I know what I'm doing. And as for getting into the facility…"he glanced up at the Turk quietly. It only took a second for him to realize his plan as Reno stared at him in disbelief._

"_You got to be kidding me…."_

He was thrown out of his thoughts as the doctor walked into the room followed by a male assistant. It was a familiar face since it was the same doctor who had been following his rehabilitation. The old man smiled at them though you could hardly see his mouth through his thick, white beard.

"Back so soon I see. Always a pleasure" he laughed while looking through his charts "Any special reason for such an early checkup?". Cloud was just about to answer but never got the chance as Tifa beat him to it.

"He collapsed yesterday" she answered without as much as glancing at Cloud. Somehow she made it sound worse than it really was which made him quite irritated.

"Is that so?" there was a tone of surprise in the doctor's voice. Tifa nodded and was about to continue, but Cloud quickly interrupted.

"It wasn't that bad. My wounds were just aching that's all. I moved around too much" he explained. Tifa shot a piercing glare at him before turning to the doctor again.

"Oh I don't know about that. He was lying on the floor quivering in pain" It all sounded very dramatic like he'd been dying on that very floor yesterday. Then it hit him what was going on. _She was doing it on purpose_! This was _payback_ and she was enjoying every second of it. She knew he hated hospitals and was probably still angry that Cloud had refused to stay there earlier when she'd told him to. Well he was not playing that game. She could exaggerate all she wanted but the body didn't lie. All they had to do was examine him.

"Really doctor I'm fine. You can even see for yourself if you want" he said. The doctor glanced amusedly at the both of them. He probably already had an idea of what was going on.

"I already intended to. Richard!" he called his assistant that so far had remained silent in his corner. Probably an intern Cloud guessed as he was very young and he also looked kind of nervous as he slowly approached him. Just as Cloud was about to take of his shirt someone call the doctor's name from the corridor. The old man quietly excused himself, leaving the three of them alone in the room. Without the doctor's merry presence an awkward silence quickly emerged, recreating the tension Cloud so desperately had tried to get rid of.

"Um sir…your shirt" the assistant (or Richard as his name was) suddenly said quietly. He then realized that the assistant had been waiting for him and quickly took off his shirt, leaving him with a bare chest. Richard started to work right away, carefully viewing his wounds and stitches. There was a slight change in his approach though compered from before. When he'd been with the doctor he'd seemed uneasy and even slightly unwilling to work with the patient. Now on the other hand his attitude was completely confidant, and he worked fast and assertive. Then suddenly he felt the assistants hand run slowly over his back. It was over the wound he'd gotten as the beam fell on him and it had been the most serious one. The hand lingered on his back and he was starting to feel very uncomfortable as Richard suddenly spoke.

"Amazing…" the hand slid up along his back and then slowly over his neck, sending chills through all his body. Finally it stopped on his head, resting on whatever was left of the wound on the back of his head.

"Yes very interesting…" he said lowly again as he removed his hand and walked over to Cloud's front. As he did Cloud caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were intense and calculating, and most of all extremely captivated. It made him feel ill at ease, like he was a lab rat being inspected in its cage. Then suddenly he ran over to a desk standing in a room and started digging around in one of its drawers. Finally he found what he was looking for and as he held it up Cloud immediately felt his whole body tense up. A syringe.

"What is that?" it was Tifa who had spoken. She hadn't commented anything on the strange body checkup, but this seemed to have caught even her eye. The syringe glimmered dangerously in the assistant's hand as he inspected its content. It was a bluish, almost transparent fluid that could've almost been mistaken for water if it hadn't been inside of the syringe.

"Just a little something for the pain" he said with little interest. Tifa glanced over anxiously at Cloud but he was not paying attention to her, nor was he looking at the assistant. All he could look at was the big syringe that waited before him. He wouldn't exactly say that he was afraid of syringes or needles, but they gave him a funny feeling. Like a distant memory from long ago that screamed 'danger' as soon as he saw them even though he knew they were completely harmless. What bothered him most now was the size of it. It wasn't _that_ big, but big enough to make him uncomfortable. Tifa seemed aware of this fact as well.

"Is it really necessary?" she asked carefully. The assistant glanced over at her. He seemed quite irritated, like he didn't like having someone look down on his judgment.

"To avoid a scene like the one you described, _yes_ it is. But it is entirely up to you" he answered. She looked over at Cloud again and he could almost hear her brain working hard to make the right decision. He sincerely hoped she would say no, but his hopes were quickly crushed as he saw her nod her head, leaving him to his faith. It was probably a sacrifice she was willing to make to not see him in pain anymore.

"Then I shall proceed" The assistant continued towards Cloud and took a hold of his arm. He quickly dabbed it with some antibiotics, then without one word of warning he pushed the needle through his skin and started emptying its content. It took Cloud completely by surprise and he almost pulled his arm away by pure reflex hadn't it been for that the assistant was holding it in a secure grip. At first he felt a small burning pain, but it was soon replaced by a soothing feeling. Then he felt some of the aching in his wounds slowly but surely dim a little. He blinked it amazement. Was it supposed to work this fast?

"What exactly did you give me?" he asked as stared in wonder at the syringe as the last of its liquid entered his body. The assistant carefully pulled it out and put it aside among his other tools before answering.

"It's a new kind of painkiller that we've just started using and it has proven quite useful. I'm sure you can feel the effects by now if I'm not mistaken" It was true. The pain was almost as good as gone. Tifa smiled over at him, which he returned with relief. For just a moment she seemed to have forgotten that she was angry with him and he was not wasting it as he took in her smiling face. How he'd missed that smile. The moment didn't last too long though as they were interrupted by the doctor who had finally returned. He smiled over at the three of them.

"Well, how did it go? Any problems with Strife here?" he questioned Richard who'd returned to his corner behind the doctor. The assistant shook his head.

"None Doctor. Actually, his body is making an extraordinary job at healing itself. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it" for a moment Cloud could spot the captivated feeling in his eyes, but the man quickly got a hold of himself and his professional mask returned. The doctor nodded in agreement as he inspected the wound on Cloud's back.

"Yes it's truly astonishing. It normally takes months to recover from injuries as severe as yours, but you're already at this state after only a couple of weeks. I must say I'm impressed" he said as he stroke his beard absently. It wasn't exactly big news to Cloud. After having being exposed to as much mako as he had, his body always seemed to recover quickly whenever he was injured. It was not a topic he would like to discuss with the doctor though so he just nodded quietly. The doctor laughed in delight.

"You are free to leave now. And to be frank I don't think there's any need for a revisit. Your body seems to do fine all by itself" he said honestly. Cloud felt even more relief rush over him. His wish had finally come true. No more hospitals! Richard on the other hand didn't seem as happy by this decision as he was.

"But sir! We don't know for sure that his body is fine yet! I still think we should-" he started but the doctor raised a hand to silence him.

"It is my decision and I'm sticking to it" he said firmly as he went over and handed Cloud his shirt. "You're free to go" he added with a wink which Cloud returned with a smile of appreciation. Tifa thanked the doctor for his time and then they were off. She was smiling brightly all the way as they exited through the hospital's large doors, tagging Cloud along by the hand as she went. He looked down at their connected hands. So this made their fight officially over? He smiled to himself. How long had it been since they were holding hands like this? As he'd thought, he getting better would make everything go back to normal. Right now all he wanted was to follow her home, which made him quite sad for what he was about to do next. He let go of her hand and stopped. Tifa turned around and looked confusedly at him.

"What's wrong?" There was a slight worry in her eyes "I'm…I'm not mad anymore you know" she said uncertainly and Cloud immediately cut her off before she could say anything else.

"It's not you. I just have something to do that's all" he saw a small glimpse of hurt in her eyes that told him that she didn't believe him so he quickly added "I'll be back before you know it and then maybe we could…" he hesitated a little before he continued "…maybe we could you know…celebrate. That I'm feeling better and all that…". First there was no reaction, but then a warm smile sneaked up in the corner of her mouth. Then a new expression lit up on her face that he couldn't quite figure out. Hesitation? No…Embarrassment?

"Yeah let's do that. Come to think of it I haven't given you your…get well present" her cheeks flared up slightly red as she said it, but he didn't get a chance to ask about it as she quickly said goodbye and left. When he couldn't see her anymore his smile slowly disappeared from his face. It was time to go. Then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he quickly picked it up. Without any form of greeting he waited for the other end to speak.

"_Meet me outside the west exit"_ was all that was said before Reno hung up. And it was all he needed to hear. He felt his gun stuck tightly in his belt as he quickened his pace towards the Shinra building. Time to go into the lion's lair…

**A/N: I have to apologize if some of you thought this chapter was a little boring. As I wrote, before I knew it the hospital scene became reeeeeeeeeally long ^^'. Hehe whops…**

**Don't worry though. More Shinra and ghost spookiness in the next chapter! Pinky promise! ;)**


	8. Chapter 8 The enemy of an enemy

**Disclaimer: Like always, no ownership of FF VII or Crisis Core **

**A/N: **

_Secret Tales: Hello! I'm back! XD  
Cloud: …._

_Secret Tales: Aw come on, I wasn't gone that long was I?_

_Cloud: …_

_Secret Tales: I was…you know…busy?_

_Cloud:…Really…that's your excuse?_

_Secret Tales: Um yeah but come on, it wasn't like I was gonna leave you_

_Cloud: Sure you weren't…_

_Secret Tales: But I-!_

_Cloud: Get back to work!_

_Secret Tales: BUT-!_

_Cloud: *raises his sword*_

_Secret Tales: ….Yes sir…._

**Yeah, Yeah I know. You all hate me now :P I was gonna come with a long, well detailed apology but then I thought screw it. Not gonna change anything. But here's at least an update for whoever is still interested. I can't promise any more updates any time soon, but I'll see what I can do ;) As always, enjoy~ **

**Chapter 8 – The enemy of an enemy**

"This is a bad idea…" Reno muttered for probably the hundredth time. The two of them were waiting quietly outside the exit according to his instructions and they were both quickly getting restless. That Cloud hadn't exactly heard the full explanation of Reno's so called 'plan' didn't exactly help him either. The more he tried to pry about it the more anxious the Turk got, which surely couldn't be a good sign. He didn't blame him too much though. To break into Shinra's top security division was a close-to-impossible task to begin with so some serious risks was a given. There was probably more at stake for Reno though, which he didn't hesitate to point out.

"I wonder which he will do first. Fire me? Or kill me?" he said bitterly to himself. As far as Cloud knew, there was only one person that Reno feared this much. The leader of the Turks: Tseng.

"It can't be that bad" the statement earned him a hard glare from Reno.

"You clearly don't know the guy" he said, suddenly looking even more despaired than before "I remember my first screw up when I ended up in his office. Didn't sleep for weeks after that…" The memory made the already light skinned Turk one shade paler (as if that was even possible). Suddenly he actually looked ready to bolt. "You know what. Maybe we should just forget all this, what do you say?" he said, laughing half-heartedly. This time it was Cloud who glared.

"We are _not _backing out now" he said coldly while standing slightly closer to the Turk in case he actually decided to run off. Reno crossed his arms angrily at his response.

"And exactly _who _put you in charge huh?" an evil grin slowly spread on his face "You know, maybe I should just turn you in right now. That would certainly solve all of my problems, not to mention give me the joy of seeing you carried off in chains." Something told Cloud that it was probably not a completely empty threat. However it didn't scare him.

"I'm certain your _boss _would love to hear about how you leaked top secret information" the words startled the Turk a little though he tried not to show it.

"He would never…He wouldn't believe you!" Cloud wasn't sure who he was trying to convince the most, Cloud or himself. In the end he probably decided it wasn't a risk he was willing to take after all as he cursed loudly and leaned back defeated against the wall. Cloud let out a small but pleased smile at his victory.

"Then let's go"

"…It won't be that easy." Cloud spun around in surprise. It was not Reno who had answered his question, but someone from behind him. Spotting a suit-dressed figure in the shadows of the building, he pulled out his gun and aimed it steadily at his enemy. He would've immediately begun threatening the guy, but the interrogating questions never left his mouth before Reno jumped in between the two men.

"Whoah, whoah, _whoah_! Take it easy man" he said, holding up his arms defensively. Cloud hesitated slightly before slowly lowering the gun, though his finger still rested uneasily on the trigger. The man came out from the shadows and as the light hit his face Cloud instantly recognized him. The knowing glint behind the man's dark sunglasses told him that he too recognized his former enemy. As Reno looked at him his trademark fox-smile spread over his face.

"I knew you were hiding somewhere Rude. A word of warning next time"

"…"

"…and why do you have a gun anyway? What happened to that way-too-heavy-big-ass-sword of yours?" Reno asked musingly, as he glanced curiously at Cloud. Not bothering with an answer Cloud put his gun back in place in his belt, eyeing Rude suspiciously. _This was __not__ part of the plan._ The gesture made Reno roll his eyes.

"Come on, he's got my back! I just told him to check what's going on in there" when there was no response he added "he also brought you this". Grabbing a big, black bag from Rude he reached it over to Cloud who eyed it just as suspiciously as the new member of their suicide mission.

"What's this?" he asked, not making any attempt to take what he was offered. Reno grinned mischievously though he seemed slightly more nervous.

"_This_, is your way in"

This was definitely not what he'd had in mind. Cloud stood awkwardly in front of the two Turks whereas Reno grinned widely, no doubt very pleased with himself.

"Rude, you're a _genius! _This disguise is flawless!" he exclaimed while patting his fellow Turk on the shoulder. Cloud shifted clumsily, trying to make his helmet fit into place.

"Did it _have _to be a military suit?" he muttered while uncomfortably trying to move forward in his new outfit. The size he'd gotten was made for someone slightly smaller than himself and the cloth was quite tight in places he'd rather not mention. It wasn't all that bothered him though. The clothes themselves brought too many memories of when he'd actually been part of the military. Back when he'd had high thoughts of Shinra…back when he'd dreamed of being a SOLDIER…and failed miserably.

"Hey, if you can think of any other way to quietly sneak inside _and _hide that spiky-ass hair then be my guest" Reno scoffed. The annoying thing was that he was right. Without this it would be quite easy to guess that he wasn't working for the company. The helmet was covering pretty much all of his hair, which he could admit was quite distinctive. That he was well known among the Turks didn't exactly help either.

"Fine, now what?" he sighed in defeat. The two Turks looked over at each other and seemed to have some silent conversation before returning their attention to Cloud.

"Now we're going in" Reno concluded simply, though it was probably going to be way harder than he made it sound. Rude's stiff body movement seemed to confirm this as they moved into the building. They arrived at a big steel-door with two guards where Reno showed off some ID, passwords and rambled something about 'newbie' and 'short on time'. Finally the guards seemed to have heard enough from him and decided to let them in. There were not that many people on the first floor. Just a few people running around with stacks of papers, and a female secretary who seemed to have a very rough time to keep up with the constantly incoming phone calls. Confidently Reno walked up to the secretary and flashed her a playful smile.

"Busy day Tiff?" for some reason the question made the woman blush bright red.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that at work?" she whispered and looked around as if to see if someone had heard him. Not seeming bothered at all Reno leaned closer to her.

"My bad _Miss Gray_" he reached out and caught a bit of her hair "it didn't bother you last night though". The secretary's cheeks were practically burning red now, but a little smile was hiding in the corner of her mouth. Cloud looked away awkwardly. This was not a conversation he wished to overhear. Thankfully, he didn't have to hear much more as Rude discretely cleared his throat, urging him to wrap it up. Reno played his finger along the woman's documents while nodding his head towards Cloud.

"See that guy? He's new and I'm ordered to lead him to the search division" he said and the woman nodded.

"We're sure getting short on staff. Doesn't exactly make my job easier" she grimaced as she glanced at the phone "so what do you need?" Reno sighed loudly and started explaining some story about lost ID, staff trouble and whatever else nonsense he could come up with. She seemed uneasy at first, but after a few more heartwarming smiles from Reno, Cloud soon had his own ID and card key. When they moved towards the elevator Reno quietly gave him some quick instructions.

"Ok listen. _Don't_ talk to anyone, _only_ go where I go and _only_ speak when I tell you too. Remember, these people thinks there's a spy among us so we'll both get in serious shit if we get discovered, got it?" he said fiercely, though there was a hint of fear in his voice. The mere thought of them getting caught was probably enough to make the Turk anxious. When the elevator then finally arrived, Reno and Rude both took a deep breath as the three of them stepped in to join their fellow Shinra coworkers. As they moved up at a fast, even speed Cloud's heart started to beat a little faster. Soon he would find out what the hell was happening with him. Looking around, his eyes suddenly stuck on a big mirror in the back of the elevator. He stared at his reflection. It was like something taken directly out of his memories. Suddenly it was like if he was young again, just a boy who dreamed about being a SOLDIER…a boy who looked up to the famous general, Sephiroth… a boy who made a friend. Images of a grinning Zack circled around in his head. He remembered his words: "_So you wanna be in SOLDIER? Hang in there"_. He felt a big lump in his throat and focused his gaze on something else in attempt to get a hold of himself. Then suddenly a familiar voice spoke up.

"_This certainly brings back memories doesn't it?" _

Cloud immediately froze. He slowly lifted his head in hope to find Reno or Rude talking to him. They weren't. But on the other hand he hadn't expected them to. He knew this voice all too well to mix it up with someone else's.

_No…not here…not now!_

He looked around frantically in the elevator but he couldn't find his black haired friend anywhere.

"_Don't you remember Cloud? What they did to us? What they did to __me__?"_

It was hard to tell where the voice was coming from since it was like a low echo. The sound was everywhere around him, but on the other hand it was probably because it was inside his head. The lack of reaction from the people around him confirmed as much. Then suddenly he realized that there was only one place which he hadn't looked. Slowly, he turned his head to the back of the elevator hoping with all his might that he was wrong…that there would be nothing there. Of course his usual luck never failed, and even though he'd been prepared for it he almost gasped aloud. There behind him in the mirror was the man himself, casually standing by his side like it was the most natural thing in the world. As their eyes met, then for the first time, Zack actually smiled. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"_I see you finally found me"_

Cloud couldn't answer. Of course it was for the obvious reason like staying low and not to blow his cover, but also because he _couldn't speak_. No matter how many times he saw his dead friend appear before him, it always shocked him how real he actually looked. When he was standing there behind him in the mirror it was like that day at the cliff never happened. His clothes were whole and clean instead of bloody and ruined. His eyes were alive and full of emotions instead of staring into nothing. It was his _friend._ The friend he had told himself that he would never see again. But before he let that thought go any further he shook it off.

_Zack is dead,_ he told himself. And right now he was up to something very important which he couldn't afford to mess up just because he was mentally unstable. With as much resolve as he could muster, he turned his gaze away and instead locked his gaze on the escalating numbers that showed that they would soon arrive on their floor. Like all his other ghost encounters this should also be a short one, and if he didn't pay enough attention it would eventually go away.

They arrived at the floor and with determined steps he followed the two Turks through a dark corridor. The stern looks on their faces told him that they'd probably almost arrived at their destination. Like at the first floor they were stopped by a large metal door, though this time it was heavily guarded. Two guards were set on each side and in the middle there were two Turks he didn't recognize. The look on Reno's face stated that they were _not _close friends. Even Rude shifted tensely by his side. He guessed that this was one of the hard parts they had been worried about. Before they got in hearing range Reno quietly repeated his instructions.

"_Don't_ say a word. Got it?" he whispered and Cloud nodded silently. He wouldn't know what to say either way. They walked up to the two guarding Turks who immediately tensed up at the new approach. The taller of the two narrowed his eyes at Reno.

"You're late" he stated, clear irritation in his voice. Reno flashed him a grin, though Cloud could feel that he was still tense.

"Hey don't be all pissy on _me_ just 'cause they put _you_ on guard duty" the remark did not help the man's temper, but before he could come with a biting response his partner spoke up.

"Who is that?" he asked warily while pointing at Cloud. His appearance seemed to be the complete opposite from his colleague in all ways. The taller man was dark haired and seemed easily provoked by Reno's cunning teasing. The shorter Turk on the other hand had short, sandy blond hair and seemed more calm and observing. It was also the blond Turk that seemed to have Reno and Rude's full attention.

"Just some newbie" Reno shrugged, attempting to sound casual. The blond Turk walked up closer, his gaze weighing heavy on Cloud. It was like he was looking straight through him, trying to dig up his darkest secrets.

"What's your name soldier?" he asked, his gaze never leaving him. Cloud straightened up like any soldier would do to their superior.

"Jake Sulley sir!" It was the name he had been given on the ID, and he tried say with as much confident as possible. The Turk's gaze lingered on him for several seconds, then suddenly he narrowed his eyes slightly and turned back to his partner.

"Sulley…Didn't that guy call in sick today? Appendicitis if I remember correctly…nasty stuff" he turned back to Cloud then "_you _however look completely fine". Cloud wasn't sure what to answer. He didn't know anything about this 'Jake Sulley' person, nor did he know anything about appendicitis. Finally he decided to follow Reno's advice, and so he stayed quiet. He turned to the redheaded Turk, hoping that he somehow could save him from this sudden dilemma. A mere look on the man could tell that he was mentally cursing loudly, but he quickly recovered and came with a nice comeback.

"It turns out like it was a false alarm, just some trouble with his stomach. Gas you know…nasty stuff" he said, mimicking the blond Turk's tone on the last part. Cloud had to admit that the guy was good at making up excuses on a short notice. It had probably saved his ass more than once before. The blond Turk however did not look convinced.

"Is that so…" he said, his scanning him from head to toe. It was as if he was looking for a sign, like a twitch, change of breathing, anything that could reveal that they were lying. And it was getting harder for Cloud to stay composed under that gaze. Then suddenly out of nowhere, the Turk pulled out his gun and pressed it hard against his chest. Reno and Rude immediately leaped into action, drawing their guns as well but the taller, dark haired Turk aimed his gun at them as an order to back off. Reno cursed loudly before returning his attention to the blond Turk.

"What the hell are you-"

"What time did you call in sick this morning" the Turk questioned Cloud without as much as a second glance at Reno. Cloud had frozen stiff the moment he felt the gun at his chest, and he knew that if his hand moved as much as a centimeter towards his belt he would get shot right there and then. This guy was not screwing around.

"Answer the question" he repeated with an eerily calm voice. Cloud remained silent. There was no way he could answer that question, and if he guessed wrong he would be killed on the spot. His mind was racing frantically as he tried to come up with a solution. _I can't die here! Not like this!_ _Think of something! Think! _He was getting desperate, but had no idea what to do. They were trapped.

"_There's no sweeter pain than being shot in the chest"_

Cloud turned his head abruptly to the left. He'd felt a soft whisper breathed into his ear. The sudden movement had almost cost him his life as he'd felt the gun pressed harder against him, and as he turned back again he saw the Turk's finger held tensely against the trigger. If he hadn't been a professional he'd let the bullet go off by pure reflex. Now that saw there was no actual danger he narrowed his eyes slightly at him in irritation, but still remained calm. Reno however looked like he'd almost had a heart attack.

"Geezus man! DO YOU _WANT_ TO DIE?" he yelled at him in exasperation. The blond Turk silenced him with one look, but when he looked over to Cloud again his eyes went wide in surprise. Well to be precise, it was whatever was behind Cloud that was surprising him. The dark haired Turk seemed just as surprised and hastily lowered his gun. Cloud felt a stinging urge to turn around and see what it was, but he decided it was best not to move. His temptation rose when he saw even Reno and Rude lowering their weapons. Then a voice spoke up from behind him.

"Does someone mind telling me what all the commotion is about?" the voice was authoritative which all the Turks present responded to. Especially the blond Turk who backed up a few steps and bowed his head slightly in a sign of respect.

"Nothing you need to bother yourself with sir. I got it under control" he stated surely. With a few quick steps the mysterious man finally came into view, and Cloud stared hard at what he saw. It was just as he remembered him…the long, black hair that reached his shoulders and a small dot between his eyebrows. The top dog just arrived.

"Tseng, eh, sir! Tseng sir! We...um…eh" the taller Turk stumbled over his words which earned him an annoyed glance from his partner, and a restrained laugh from Reno. Tseng sighed tiredly and looked observingly at the scene before him.

"Under control you say Eli…" he said quietly before turning his attention to Reno "You're late". Not denying it Reno shrugged lightly in his usual devil-may-care way.

"Not my fault boss. They wouldn't let me in" he said while nodding at Eli. Fury burned in the blond Turk's eyes.

"They are bringing in someone suspicious! He's probably not even working here!" he exclaimed while pointing wildly at Cloud. Tseng slowly looked back and forth from Cloud to Reno and Rude, nothing of his mind revealed on his tight poker face. Finally he turned to Cloud.

"Do you have your ID?"

"…Yes" Cloud answered hesitantly. Tseng nodded silently to himself, his face still revealing nothing.

"Do you have your keycard?" when Cloud nodded in answer he glanced over to Reno and Rude who watched expectantly. He thought silently for a few seconds before finally giving out his orders.

"Alright take him with you. Now follow me, we don't have all day" as he saw that Eli was about to protest he added "It's decided. Now you and Jensen go back to work". The order was final and the three of them were let in without any more questions. A grin of triumph was on full display over Reno's smug face, and even the usually expressionless Rude showed how pleased he was. They were in! They actually made it! And as they followed Tseng through the dark corridor they finally arrived…in hell. As opposite to the first floor, this floor had people _everywhere_. People were running around, digging through thick piles of documents on their desks, arguing loudly and some were even screaming at each other. In short: It was complete chaos!

"Another lovely day at work" Reno sighed. He hadn't been kidding about the zoo part. As they walked through the mass of people, sometimes Cloud could actually see people staring suspiciously at each other or hiding their work in the corner of their rooms as if they were afraid of their neighbors. This spy really had everyone on their toes.

Tseng didn't stay in the chaos though, but led them further in to a part with larger offices with shiny glass windows. There were less people working here, but they seemed to be working more intently with serious looks on their faces. He then realized that this was probably where the main investigation was taking place. Tseng then motioned the three of them to follow him into one of the offices, this one seeming more prestigious than the others. After entering the room, Reno discreetly turned to Cloud for some quick instructions.

"Stand by the door, and don't make a sound. In this office _that_ man" he said while pointing firmly at Tseng "is GOD. Just…act like you don't exist and for god's sake _don't_ get us busted! Understood?" The words were harsh, but Cloud still spotted a smile in the corner of his mouth. Clearly this was a huge victory for him to have gotten Cloud into this office.

"Got it. But remember, I _need_ to get to that girl!" he urged Reno. Even though he was just as glad as him to have gotten this far, their main purpose was not done. Not by a long shot. He could see Reno's smile vanishing within three seconds, and now instead he was biting his lip anxiously.

"I'll figure it out" he finally said, though it was not very reassuring. Then the chitchat ended when Tseng called for the both Turks to join him at his desk. He lined up a long list of documents which got the three of them into a long, hushed discussion. As the minutes passed their faces grew graver. Even Rude's normally expressionless face had signs of worried wrinkles plastered on his forehead. Finally it seemed that Reno couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his hand hard in the table, cursing like a drunken sailor. Rude tried to calm him by putting a restraining hand on his shoulder, but he violently shook it off. Tseng had despite all the commotion remained calmed, and he quietly observed Reno as he now angrily pushed a heavy pile of documents of the desk into the trash.

"This is useless! FUCKING useless do you hear me?" Cloud actually jumped in surprise as Reno snapped loudly at his two colleagues. Rude took a step towards him.

"Reno…"

"NO! This is ridiculous! They should have found her by now!" he cried angrily as he started to walk around in circles. A moment of silence passed before Tseng finally spoke.

"I'm sure Elena is fine. She's a Turk, she can look after herself" the response made Reno laugh out loud.

"Yeah look where that got Stewart. It doesn't matter if you're a Turk or not, this guy will still find you, hurt you, torture you, or whatever crap he's doing! Then you'll show up dead in the gutter just like everyone else!" he screamed at his superior. The black haired man didn't even flinch at this and continued calmly.

"There's actually one lead I haven't passed on to the investigation yet…" this made all eyes in the room turn to the Turk leader. He smiled at this expected response and continued now that he got everyone's attention.

"We've found another connection between the victims" he declared while taking out some new documents from a locked drawer. Reno and Rude stepped closer to look at this new information.

"A hospital?" Rude stated confusedly.

"The Central City Hospital to be exact" Tseng confirmed and started flipping through his papers. Cloud turned his head abruptly at the sound of the name. I was not just _a_ hospital. It was _the_ hospital. The hospital he'd just been to earlier that day. The hospital he'd spent his recovery in for the past weeks. And now they were saying that this was a part of the victim profile? He was suddenly turning cold all over. Cloud wasn't he only one who'd been to that hospital. Tifa had visited him all the time he'd been there, along with Marlene and Denzel. That meant they were all ideal victims for the murderer.

"I wasn't sure at first, but now it has become clear that it has a connection to all the victims. It's often used by our staff in emergency situations and some of the victims have been treated for gunshot injuries there. Elena was one of them"

"Yeah I remember" Reno answered sullenly, again depressed at the thought of their missing comrade. Tseng nodded and continued.

"Yes, and this wouldn't have drawn my attention at first, but then I started to look into smaller treatments. Suddenly all kinds of connections could be made! Small cuts, vaccinations, colds, headaches, everything! One case of the victims was even a visitor." At the last statement Cloud felt cold chills running down his spine. It was just as he'd expected. Now he was even more certain that both he and his family were in danger.

"And also…" Cloud snapped back into attention. He had been so lost in thought that he'd forgotten that Tseng were still in the middle of explaining. But now when he looked up at the older man he noticed that he was staring right at him. Reno and Rude glanced nervously between the two, not sure what was going on.

"And also…" Tseng continued "we have one person who I expect to be the next victim..." His eyes were piercing right through him, and suddenly Cloud knew what his next words were gonna be. "a victim that recently recovered in that very hospital from a building collapse…" he walked closer and closer "Isn't that right…Cloud?"

_Oh shit…._

**A/N: There it is! I'm actually quite happy with myself ^_^ Hopefully you'll see the continuation of this.**

**Now, TIME FOR UNCHARTED 3! *.* **


	9. Chapter 9  In the midst of hell

**Disclaimer: Noooo ownership of FF VII or Crisis Core **

**A/N: **

_**SecretTales: Seriously guys, you've got to play Uncharted 3, IT'S AWESOME! XD Sorry I'm high on that game right now *^* Thanks for the great response btw! I thought I owed you an update so here it is! Enjoy the epic adventures of Cloud!**_

_**Cloud: *facepalm***_

_**SecretTales: What?**_

**Oh yeah and also, I'm sorry if the last chapter was really badly written! I read through it yesterday and found spelling and grammar mistakes ****everywhere****! I'll update it later today to change all the errors I found. Hopefully I did better in this chapter :P Sorry …^_^'**

**Chapter 9 – In the midst of hell**

Cloud had been in deep trouble before. Hell, at times he'd been the definition of trouble itself. He'd faced the near destruction of the world, had friends kidnapped, been trapped himself, and Gaia forbid the awful memories of Don Corneo's mansion where he had to lower himself to cross-dressing. But as he stood there…in that room, in the middle of Shinra HQ, in that way too small soldier disguise, with Tseng staring so fiercely at him that he might sink into the floor and disappear…at that moment he thought that this might be the deepest shit he'd _ever _been through.

Starting to panic he scanned the room for exits. In the end of the room were two large windows that he might reach in 5 seconds if he was fast enough. Unfortunately, hurling himself out of a window on this floor would be nothing but suicide so that plan was out of the question. As if Tseng could smell his panic, he smiled and took one step closer.

_Shit, shit, shit! _

Alright, plan B. Behind him was a door, and if he used that exit none of the three Turks in the room could get to him in time before he was out of there. Yes, that was it! He would just open the door, run like hell and get as far away from this place as possible-

…_I'm an idiot_

Right after he opened that door, he would meet a sea of Shinra workers, Turks and guards that would take him down at the snap of Tseng's fingers. He might as well take the window to spare himself the humiliation…

"_Hey, I told you this was a bad idea"_ Zack's voice echoed in his head. If Cloud knew how, he would have smacked him.

"There is nowhere to run, so why don't we stop this charade" Tseng sighed impatiently as he gestured to Cloud's soldier attire.

"Look, eh , boss, it's not what you-" Reno started but Tseng immediately silenced him with a glare.

"You and I will talk plenty later in this office, don't you worry, but right now the only one I want to talk to is Cloud." The tight smile on Tseng's face did not reach his eyes and as he looked at the redheaded Turk, Cloud could almost feel a dark aura emitting from him. Reno's fear for his Turk superior was clearly not uncalled for. He fell silent in a second on the man's command and backed up to stand with Rude. His friend seemed just as intimidated by his boss as Reno, though he masked it well behind his sunglasses.

When he was sure he was not going to be disturbed anymore, Tseng returned his attention to Cloud. The game was up. All that was left to do was to surrender. With a deep breath, he took off his helmet and dropped it carefully on the floor. Then, with the determination not to be overwhelmed by the leader's heavy stare, he stared fearlessly into the Turk's eyes. A moment of silence passed, where none of them seemed willing to make the first move. Then suddenly, a genuine smile crept up in the corner of Tseng's mouth.

"It's been a while since I've seen those eyes" he laughed as he circled the desk and sat down on his big, black chair "I wonder when it was the last time I saw them."

"Probably the last time I fought you and your dogs" Cloud replied icily. Whatever humorous interest Tseng had for him, he did not share the same feeling in return.

"Yes I suppose that's true" Tseng agreed as he rested his elbows on the desk, leaning forward closer to him "but still you followed those dogs into their lair". As Cloud remained silent at this statement he continued. "And do you know then exactly why I _let you_ pass into this lair?"

This was something that had been bothering Cloud. If he'd realized that he was here, it wouldn't be something he'd realized just now. He must've known from the moment he saw him at the gate control, if not even sooner. He pondered this for a second, and then suddenly the Turk's earlier statement came to mind.

"You think I'm the next victim?" it was mix between a question and a statement, but from the look on Tseng's face it seemed like he'd hit the mark. He flipped through a still standing pile of documents that Reno still hadn't knocked of the desk, and pulled out a file marked with big, dark red letters that said _Top Secret._

"Right now there's not anyone more fitting with the victim profile than you" he was not smiling anymore, and his face grew more serious as he spoke "we can draw more connection between the company and you than I can count, not to mention that you are a well-known name among our staff. Only this put you high on our list before, but now with your recent accident…" he shook his head in amazement "there's just no question about it. They're gonna come after you, and I want to make sure we get to them before that happens". This made Cloud scoff out loud.

"Sorry but I'm not interested in your help" he replied coldly and turned to the door to leave. At this point it wouldn't matter if he just walked out on them. He didn't get to take as much as a step though before Reno and Rude were surrounding him, weapons up and ready.

"I wouldn't do that Spike" Reno warned him, his EMR dangerously close to his throat. Cloud froze and tried to stand as still as possible. Not because he was scared for his life, but because he was concentrating. Since the two Turks had about the same grace as a rabid elephant, he'd had plenty of time to angle his gun to the incoming enemies. He knew exactly how to act to get them both to the ground, and he had full confident that he could pull it off despite not wielding his usual weapon.

"Reno, Rude. That's enough" it seemed that Tseng knew this too. At first, from the look on Reno's face, he appeared to be considering disobeying his orders. Cloud thought with no doubt that he was holding a serious grudge for bringing him into this mess. But when Rude put a light grip on his arm, he reluctantly lowered his weapon. When Cloud was sure neither of them was indicating any threat to him, he carefully lowered his gun as well. With a sigh of relief Tseng spoke up once again.

"I know you think lowly of us, and rightly so I can admit. But we can protect you, protect your family" he promptly suggested.

"I don't _need_ your help! And why would you anyway? You haven't given a rat's ass before all this" he almost spat the words as he thought of all his previous meetings with the Turks. If he'd learned anything, it was that the Turks always put their duty and loyalty to the company before anything else. For some reason this statement made Reno sigh in frustration.

"Do you have something to say to me?" Cloud questioned which triggered an even more annoyed expression across Reno's face.

"Listen, we _don't care_ about _YOU_, ok? _**EVERYTHING**_ IS NOT ABOUT _**YOU**_! WHAT WE CARE ABOUT IS THAT YOU ARE OUR _**ONLY**_ CLUE THAT CAN LEAD US TO EL-….EVERYONE WHO'S MISSING! SO WE CAN'T JUST LET THEM SNATCH YOU AWAY FROM UNDER BENEATH OUR NOSES! …_**GOT IT**_?" he was practically screaming loud enough to break the glass windows. When he was done, the room fell completely silent, everyone with their eyes blinking in surprise. Even Tseng was entirely out of words. This was probably the first time any of the three had seen him rash out at anyone like that. The Turk usually had a very 'devil may care' attitude, and never seemed to care enough about anything to get this angry. Eventually however, Rude stepped forward and once again put a calming hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find her" was all he said, and for a second Cloud could swear that he saw an identical frustration hiding beneath those thick glasses. Then his professional mask was back up again, as he straightened up and backed up towards the door. Reno looked up at his bald friend, their eyes appearing to speak for them. Then as if someone had flipped a switch, his tense shoulders relaxed and the trademark fox-grin was back in business.

"He's all yours boss" he said with a waving gesture towards Cloud, before leaving the room with Rude right behind him. Something told Cloud they weren't going very far though. But for now he was alone with Tseng. The man was staring at the red stamped file as if the whole world was depending on that very file.

"You may say that you don't need our help, but the truth is we need yours" he flipped rapidly through the pages as he spoke "but then again, I _do_ think you need our help. Because if you didn't, why would you even be here". As much Cloud hated to admit it, what he said was actually true. After getting busted he'd almost forgotten why he'd come there to begin with. The one thing that could be the answer to all this were their main suspect. The girl who talked about seeing ghosts…the girl who was just like Cloud. This was the only way to get to this murderer and make sure his family was not gonna get hurt. And he knew what he had to do.

"_The enemy of an enemy is a friend right?"_ It was strange how his dead friend's voice didn't scare him anymore. The fact that he still hadn't left yet, that he could feel him hiding everywhere in his reflections despite all the time that had passed should be frightening. But no, what scared Cloud wasn't the fact that he was still there, it was the fact that it felt so _natural_ for him to be there. Like it was becoming a part of him…like it was becoming something _permanent._ But right now, he had no time for ghosts, or well at least not his own.

"You're right, we should work together" Cloud could hardly believe the words coming out of his own mouth. "I'll let you ask whatever questions you want and I'll let you keep an eye on me to a certain point" he made it very clear on the last statement. The last thing he wanted was to have a bunch of Turks following him around like shadows. He waited for Tseng to nod in approval before continuing: "But I have one condition". Tseng raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh? And what might that be?" it was hard to see if he was curious or suspicious. Maybe he was both.

"In exchange for me cooperating with you, I want to question your main suspect" from the look on Tseng's face, it appeared that this was _not_ the demand he'd been anticipating. His curiousness was now quickly taken over by his suspiciousness.

"I see, so that's the reason you came here. But I'm sorry I can't let you do that"

"What? Why not?" if he couldn't convince Tseng to do this he had no idea what else he could do.

"That girl is under strict surveillance, and I can't risk that something happens to our only suspect. If you want to see her you better give me a damn good reason why" it was at times like these that you could understand why Tseng became the leader of the Turks. He understood how badly Cloud needed this, but he also understood that it must mean that Cloud knew something he didn't…something important. And he wouldn't be willing to trade until he told him what it was. Cloud bit his lip in thought. What should he do? There was no way he could tell him about the ghosts. He hadn't even told Tifa about that.

"Please, let me talk to her!"

"And why should I?" Yup, Tseng was not budging. But maybe he could meet him halfway…

"Look, she's not telling you anything right? I think if you let me see her, she'll talk to me." Now this caught Tseng's interest.

"And why would she talk to you when she wouldn't even talk to her own husband?" This wasn't working. And if he couldn't convince him, he would be all out of options.

"_Don't worry, if it doesn't work there's always plan B…"_ he jumped a little at Zack's sudden voice. This time it wasn't just an echo in his head, but from the other side of the room. He looked up in surprise. It took a moment for Cloud to spot him, but then he saw him…and he went cold all over. Zack was standing right behind Tseng…flipping a tiny knife playfully between his fingers. Cloud quickly had to remind himself that he was the only one seeing the dead SOLDIER, because this time it was really hard to tell that he wasn't truly there. The previous experience with Aerith had felt real enough, but this time there was pretty much nothing that could separate the dead from the living. He felt just as real as Tseng was which was why Cloud felt really ill at ease when Zack brought his knife closer to the Turk.

"_Just ask away spikey. If he refuses to cooperate, well…it's his loss"_ The knife was almost puncturing Tseng's skin.

"Stop!"

"…Is there a problem?" Without thinking Cloud had said the word out loud and now Tseng was looking confusedly between Cloud and the (to him) empty space behind him.

"Um no…sorry" he tried to look the Turk straight in the eye, but he couldn't help but glancing over to the knife in Zack's hand. _It's not real_, is what he kept telling himself but…

_Can I really take that chance?_

He felt nothing but hatred for the man, but that didn't mean he wanted him dead…especially not by the hands of a ghost in his head.

"I'm asking you one more time. Why would she talk to you?" Tseng's patience was running thin. Cloud glanced anxiously at the knife still held all too closely to his throat. He had no choice now. He would have to tell him about the ghost or-

"Maybe I can answer the question for you" Tseng's statement immediately stopped Cloud's track of thoughts.

"What?" he could feel the sweat that slowly started to run down his neck. How could he know? He hadn't said anything that gave him away had he? Maybe he'd had spies following him all this time! In the corner of his eye he could see Zack smiling as he positioned the knife over one of the thicker veins.

"You think she'll talk to you because you both went to see this man didn't you" Tseng's face was shining in triumph as he held up the opened top secret folder. On the page was a familiar face, smiling under a thick, white beard.

"My doctor?" Cloud stared in confusion at the picture. What did his doctor have to do with this?

"Yes, Dr. Jonathan Harrison to be exact" Tseng mused "You, and I'm guessing, our main suspect, along with a large number of the victims, have all been to see this doctor at least once. So why don't you stop pretending and tell me the truth". Cloud was just about to protest when it hit him. This was his chance! His get-out-of-jail-free card!

"That's right. I thought since we were both his patient, she would have more trust in me than with the company." The smile of victory on Tseng's face told him the lie went perfectly past him without suspicion.

"Just as I thought" he closed the file and brought it with him as he walked up to Cloud "Alright, I'll let you see her" he held up the file for Cloud to take, but just before it hit his hand Tseng pulled it back slightly "on _one_ condition". Cloud groaned. Of course it wouldn't be this easy.

"What condition?"

"You've already agreed to work with us, and for that I'm grateful. But if you're going to meet our main suspect I'll want my men to keep a close eye on you" he put the file lightly in Cloud's hand "Like Reno said: 'we wouldn't want the enemy to snatch you away from under beneath our noses', and that means close surveillance 24/7. Deal, or no deal?" At this point Cloud could feel a big headache coming on. But what choice did he have? He gave a light nod and took the file from Tseng. In the same moment as he did, Zack also disappeared…well at least from clear view. Cloud could still feel his friend lurking in the reflections, just like before.

"Then we have an agreement. Come right this way." They both went out the door and continued further down the long corridor. The further in they went the more guards they could see standing along the walls. Finally they arrived at a door completely crowded with guards. As soon as they arrived, all the guards straightened up at the presence of the Turk leader. Somewhere among the crowd Cloud could also spot Reno and Rude, who both didn't seem at all surprised at the arrival of their boss and himself.

"I guess this means we'll be working together then" Reno sighed as if the thought of it was as appealing as cleaning toilets. How he knew of the arrangements Cloud had no idea, but on the other hand, information probably travelled pretty fast around here. Cloud only gave the thought a second though, because now Tseng was opening the door. This was it, his only chance to get some answers.

"5 minutes is all I can give you. There are other people than me in charge around here and they would probably be more than happy to drag you away for questioning." Tseng said firmly as he opened the door for him "you better make her talk". Cloud certainly hoped so too. He walked quickly into the room, and he flinched a little as he heard the door close behind him. The room was completely quiet. In front of him stood a table with two chairs around it, and in one of them was a woman in chains. She had long, black, curly hair that probably looked beautiful when she tended to it, but now it was a crazy mess, probably from putting up a good fight. Through the tangled mess of hair, he saw two clear blue eyes that stared dead at the floor.

"Hello?" he said carefully, trying not to startle her. At first there was no reaction, but then she slowly turned her head towards him. Now that Cloud could see her eyes clearly, he really felt for the lady. She had thick, dark circles under her eyes, indicating that she probably hadn't slept in days, and from the look in her eyes…the woman was heartbroken. It was the eyes of someone who had lost everything. From the look of it, she didn't seem to care that he was there at all.

"If you are here to question me don't bother" She sighed and turned her eyes back to the floor. He waited for her to say something else, but when she remained silent he went and sat in the chair in front of her.

"I'm not one of them" he said and pointed at his clothes "don't let the uniform fool you. I normally wouldn't want anything to do with these assholes" something he said was apparently very funny since this made the woman burst out into laughter. After laughing almost to the burst of tears, she looked up at him.

"You _do_ know that until one week ago I was a part of these assholes" Realization hit him as soon as she said it. This woman had worked for the company before she became their main suspect. Embarrassed he immediately started to apologize, but the woman waved it off.

"It's ok. It's just-"she started laughing again and needed to take a quick breath before continuing "It's just that all this time I've had people coming in and out, ordering me to tell the truth…to show my loyalty to the company. And then, all of a sudden, _you_ show up and practically tell me to screw the company altogether". She laughed hard for a few minutes before slowly calming down, breathing heavily in exhaustion. Then suddenly, all the humor was gone, and tears started running down her face.

"You're not like the others are you" she said while attempting to smile "I can see it in your eyes". Cloud stared sympathetically at her. The thought of being locked inside this room, accused of both murder, conspiracy, and being completely out of her mind…was the thing he feared the most. And she had already been through it.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"Jane. Jane Stanson" she said quietly while reaching forward a restrained handshake. He shook it carefully, feeling the weak grasp of her hand. How could this have happened to her?

"I'm Cloud. Do you think you could tell me what happened?" he asked her gently. She looked down at floor, her hands trembling slightly in her shackles. He wanted to put his hand on hers in other to comfort her, but decided against it. Instead he gave her a moment to compose herself, and after a few deep breaths she started to speak.

"It started around three weeks ago. I had just arrived back from a mission and had some time off for myself. And then…" she shook her head sadly "then I started…_seeing_ things". Cloud swallowed hard. She'd hardly begun telling her version of the story and it was already matching his own.

"Define seeing things" he encouraged her, though he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know. When she didn't answer right away he added "No matter what you say, I will _never_ accuse you of being crazy". She looked at him, and he could see tears starting to build up in her eyes. He repeated himself once more "No matter what…". A tear fell on her cheek as she took a shaky breath before she proceeded.

"I started seeing things…things that shouldn't be there…_people_ that couldn't possibly be there…" her eyes seemed to dream herself away "the first one to show up was Tom"

"Tom?"

"My brother" she explained absently "he died last year. Car accident…I was driving". After that Cloud wasn't sure if she was talking him or to herself. "It started out as glimpses, or as he preferred to call it, 'shorter visits'" Big tears started to drip down at the table as she balled her hands up into tight fists. "Then not long after that, I started seeing my father…and my mother…my best friend…all people that have been dead a long time now" she lifted her hand in reflex to wipe away her tears, but the chain around her wrist stopped her. This made her laugh a little halfheartedly while mumbling something about being stuck to that chair too long. Feeling a little awkward for her, he took off one of his gloves and used it to wipe away most of the tears around Jane's cheeks. It probably wouldn't help much as she was still crying, but the woman smiled at him with appreciation.

"Of course I understood that something was wrong early on. No sane person would be seeing ghost right?" she made an attempt to make it sound funny, but Cloud was not laughing. He knew exactly how she felt.

"As time passed their 'visits' became longer and longer. I went to the hospital, hoping they could help me somehow, but they couldn't find anything wrong with me. Soon they didn't just appear and disappear, but…simply remained by my side" like she'd heard a sudden noise, she abruptly turned her head towards the corner of the room. A sad smile covered her lips.

"…They are here now aren't they" Cloud said grimly. She nodded in answer, not taking her eyes of the empty corner. He sighed and rested his head in his hands. Through his fingers he caught a glimpse of a shining blue eye reflecting in the table. It was not his own, nor was it Jane's. Angrily he slammed his hands over the table, trying to cover up any spot where he might see a reflection. Jane stared confusedly, but then suddenly eyes widened as if everything became clear to her.

"You see them too don't you…that's why you came here" she stared at him for a while, like she was in a sort of chock-like state. More tears started flowing from her eyes, only this time it was not tears of sadness, but of relief. "You see them too!" she repeated happily like she could not believe her own words. Then, like a mantra, she started whispering all over again 'I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy'. Cloud could almost feel his own eyes watering in relief. If he'd come here, and found out that he was the only one seeing what he saw…he feared he would have gone crazy for real. But he was still not completely happy with this discovery, because if ghosts truly were following him around, he had one question.

"Why are they here?" he hadn't meant to sound so desperate, but he couldn't help it. He'd been holding that question for himself for so long that it was almost painful to say it out loud. Now it was Jane's turn to give him a sympathetic look.

"Isn't it obvious? They are here because they blame us…they are here because _we_ are the ones that should be dead." A kick in the nuts had been less painful than hearing those words. It was the words Cloud had feared to hear ever since he'd started seeing the dead. He remembered his friends' haunting words: _"Why?". _From the beginning he should have realized what it meant.

_Why did you kill me?_

It's true that he'd never intentionally taken their lives, but both of them died all because of him. He should have done something to stop it. He should have done more! Hell, he should've been the one who died! Jane was staring at her hands that now had started to tremble.

"And n-n-now…they are w-waiting for us to f-f-follow them into the a-a-afterlife" her voice was so shaky that it was hard to make out what she was saying. She no longer paid any attention to Cloud either. Her eyes were glued to the corner of the room again, and the terrified look on her face only hinted on whatever demons she was facing there. At the sight of her, Cloud could almost feel Zack's presence getting stronger. He wanted to get out of here, and get as far away as possible from this place. Quickly he decided to sum up this interrogation, and pulled out the file that Tseng had given him.

"Have you seen this man before?" he demanded, showing her the picture of Dr. Harrison. Still glancing anxiously to the dark corner of the room, Jane tried to focus her eyes on the tiny picture.

"Yes. He's my best friend's grandfather" she finally said after studying it for a while. So Tseng had been right after all.

"Have you seen him any time recently" he asked her urgently. She contemplated this for a second, not seeming entirely sure.

"No I don't think-…wait…yes I saw him. Just after the mission. Things had been kind of rough and he offered me a free, private check-up" she concluded. That would explain why Tseng wasn't sure if she'd seen the doctor. A private check-up wouldn't show on any records. He had a really bad feeling about this.

"You don't think that it has anything to do with this do you? It was just a standard check up! I just got a little something for the pain in my leg, and then-" before she could finish the sentence Cloud interrupted her.

"'Something for the pain?' You mean like a shot?" he remembered the syringe with water-like content he got at the earlier visit that day.

"Yes" she nodded in confirmation "and they gave me a new one when I came there the second time…" she trailed off as she thought about this. There was no question about it now. Dr. Harrison played some part in these murders and disappearances. That reminded him of another unanswered question.

"How did you end up as a main suspect in this investigation in the first place?" something really big must've happened for her to end up like this. He could see the horror return to her eyes, but she avoided looking straight at him.

"I'm…I'm honestly n-n-not exactly sure w-what happened" the trembling in her voice was back. This was obviously very hard for her to talk about.

"It's ok. Just tell me what you remember" Cloud gently assured her. She nodded slowly, but didn't say anything. Her eyes were at the floor, with her messy hair covering all of her face. It almost felt like she was trying to hide in that beautiful mass of curly hair. It was almost exactly the way she'd looked when he'd first entered the room. He wanted to urge her to say something, but at the same time he didn't want to pressure her. Right now she seemed so small and so fragile. Then suddenly a small whisper breathed through her tangled hair.

"I think they did it…" her whole body was shaking now "one day I just blacked out. I have no idea for how long I was out…and then when I suddenly came round I was…" she choked on her breath, sobbing quietly to herself. Despite her greatest effort, the end of her sentence became a crying mess of words. "I was surrounded by four dead bodies. There was a Turk, a-and two guards and I think one of them was a s-secretary". She leaned her head on her lap, crying out her mantra "I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'M NOT CRAZY!". It was a heartbreaking sight. Carefully Cloud walked over and kneeled by her side, laying a comforting hand on her back.

"Just because you were there doesn't mean that you killed them" he said surely as he gently stroke her back. She shook her head violently, as if he didn't understand her.

"I was _holding_ the knife Cloud…" she cried "When they found me there I was holding the weapon that killed them! And-" her head turned sharply towards the corner again. Whatever ghost or invisible creature was standing there scared her beyond comprehension. Scared that she was going to have a heart attack he put himself between her and the corner, staring reassuringly into her teary blue eyes.

"I won't let them hurt you" it was not a lie, though he wasn't sure how to fight something he could not see. Even though he stood in front of her, her eyes had not left the corner, and when she spoke up again it was not to Cloud she was speaking.

"I saw you there Tom…laughing in a pool of their blood. _You_ did this! I don't know how, but you made me do this!" she screamed at the brother he could not see "I love you…and I will always love you…but after I woke up by that fallen building I…I will never forgive you!"

"Jane…I-" more than that Cloud didn't get to say until loud screams and gunshots were heard outside. He couldn't even react before the door flew open and an ear-bleeding bang echoed through the small room. A sharp, burning pain hit his arm and he fell hard to the ground. He tried to get up fast despite the pain, but a strong foot kicked him down on the ground. With no way of moving he was pressed down on his stomach. He heard Jane gasp, and the sound of a gun getting loaded.

"No, JANE!" he screamed, but his voice was overpowered by the ringing gunshot. The room met an eerie silence, and with his face pressed against the floor he saw large drops of blood dropping on the floor in front of him. For a moment he could only gap in chock. The thought that the woman he'd been talking to only seconds ago was dead felt almost unreal to him. But chock was soon overtaken by anger, and he raged wildly on the floor trying to in any way physically hurt this cold blooded murderer.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he screamed in blind rage. For a moment he almost overpowered his captor who struggled a great deal to keep him where he was. Then suddenly he felt a quick, throbbing sting in his upper arm that made him cry out pain. He wanted to tear this guy apart, but then the pain slowly started to disappear, along with the feeling in his arms and legs.

_What's…happening to me…?_

His eyes grew tired and then fear suddenly struck him. A syringe! They'd drugged him! He fought with all his might against whatever poison was spreading through his body, but there was no use. Within seconds he couldn't move a single muscle and he could barely hold himself over the surface of unconsciousness. Then suddenly he felt a hand lightly patting his head, and a male voice whispered in his ear.

"It's not your time yet, but don't worry. I will come for you…"

_His voice…I think I have heard it somewhere…_

Then he sank into the darkness…

**A/N: What can I say, I love cliffhangers ;) Do tell me what you thought about this chapter. I was experimenting a little with it so I wasn't sure if the final thing would be any good :P See ya!**


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